


Dominus

by sexystylinson



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Abusive Past, Alpha Harry, Anal Sex, Bottom Louis, Butt Plugs, Disabled Character, Disabled Harry, Dominant Harry, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Innocent Louis, Knotting, Louis in Lace, Louis in Panties, Mpreg, Mpreg Louis, Omega Louis, Pregnant Louis, Sad Harry, Shy Harry, Shy Louis, Smut, Sub Louis, Top Harry, Trigger Warnings, Unconditional Love, Violence, harry gets slightly mad sometimes, he has his shy moments, no leg no problems, plugs for louis butt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-24 07:24:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 106,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20702147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sexystylinson/pseuds/sexystylinson
Summary: written by SS98Harry is of a superior species, rare and genetically untameable. He meets his missing piece in theform of Louis and they begin to share a life that came to them too soon.all credit goes to the original writer SS98 . i have no affiliation with this fanfic i am simply re uploading it .





	1. chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> written by SS98 all credit goes to them .

There was a storm coming their way, Louis' pretty sure of it. The tiny piece of land called the Caprivi Lands has  
been victim to the most horrid storms that could ever come their way.

Louis' lived here with his family for nineteen years and today would be his last year of school. It would also be  
the day of Den Nærmer - The Approaching.  
Louis always thought it sounded haunted and when he was ten he absolutely refused to partake in it. Of  
course, nine years ago he needn't have to. Today though, he had no choice.

Today's grand occasion was what Louis' grandmama liked to call 'The Meeting of the Mates' and the title  
summed it all up. Louis' school was a kind of prep/finishing school where he was taught the best manners just  
so that today would be perfect.

A Dominus was a male of the superior kind. They were bred to lead, fight and one day - when they're twentytwo - select a mate. Most were frightening, Louis wasn't very fond of his dad until he learnt the history, but as  
he grew Louis dreamt of having his mate find him in such a romantic way.

He knew their relation would take long to nurture and it would not include what happens in those movies he  
borrows from a fellow down at the beach. He just took to the idea of a person loving him enough to protect  
and care for him.

"Louis!" He was planning on sleeping until ten today since the mistress would fetch him at twelve.

"Mother?" He mumbled into his pillow.

"Where's your sister's skirt?" She asked through his closed bedroom door.

He sighed. "Which one?"

"The brown one." Her voice was getting louder, signalling her approach to his room door.

"It didn't come back from the line yet."

"And the others?" 

It was always his job to know where things were at all times, not for the sake of oppression but because he  
just liked having answers. "What does she need them for?"

"I don't know but she won't leave me alone unless I find them." Everyone knew how persistent his sisters were.

"Try the second drawer in her closet."

"Thanks."

When she's gone, Louis burrows himself into his covers and falls asleep again.

He woke himself up forty minutes later when the dream he had was the worst he could have. In his dream, it  
was twenty minutes before everyone had to settle down for the first Dominus to arrive. They had chosen their  
offerings and Louis got a seat closest to the television.

At this point, each person was given a sweet wrapped in black paper. If it was white, you would be chosen by a  
mate today. If it was red - there was only one red sweet each year - you were offered to the final Dominus, a  
different horror each year.

Louis was sweating and clutching his sheets, the weather already looking gloomy outside his window. He  
swallowed and let the sweat run down his body before moving at all.

He showered and dressed in the clothes laid out for him the night before. His mother set the outfit of black  
jeans and matching turtle-neck on his study table.

"Mom?" He padded through the house, flashes of lightning occasionally illuminating the place.

"In here, darling!"

He followed her voice to the laundry room and giggled when he saw she was still looking for her sister's skirt.

"Oh, Lou." She hugged him and he blushed. "You look radiant already. Your hair could do with some help."  
"That's why I came to you." He wrung his fingers together and bit his lip.  
She was all too eager to fix his hair and pick out his shoes. She reprimanded him when he slipped them on  
without socks but he decided he liked them that way.  
"Moonpie." His grandmama walked in from the kitchen in her navy nightgown and fuzzy slippers that matched  
a pair Louis had stashed in his closet.

"Morning, grandmama." He smiles and hugs her the same way he did when he was ten and younger, arms  
crossed over her shoulders and breathing in her sweet lavender scent.  
The door rattled at five to twelve and Louis' heart lurched in his throat, nerves firing up and anxiety flaring.  
"Calm down, sweetheart." She kissed his forehead. "You're still coming home to us tonight."  
The tradition entitled Louis to one last night with his parents tonight, before he must leave with the Dominus  
that arrives for him in the earliest hour of tomorrow. He nodded and waited for her to open the door, chewing  
his lip as his anxiety made the air thick in his lungs. 

In walked his headmistress with a foul glare and strict demeanour. Madam was always strict and uptight but  
she treated her students fairly, all except for him. When Louis presented as part of the improperly termed  
'weaker' gender she set her sights on making him miserable.  
She gazed at Louis' attire now, huffed and dragged him out the door without a word of greeting.  
"Do you know how this works, young man?" She got Louis into the car and he fought to not stare anywhere but  
at her.  
He shook his head. He wasn't entirely sure of anything when she was there with him.  
"You sit with the rest of the students in a house out of this town. In the woods." She cleared her throat. "You  
have an offering?"  
Again, he shook his head. An offering was not compulsory, and Louis thought giving this man his heart would  
suffice.  
"You were always the laziest." She scorned, making his tiny ego deflate. "Just stay still until your name's called.  
If it gets called, that is."  
He wanted to cry because how can she say that to him? He's already worked up on pent up agitation about his  
nightmare and not being loved for the rest of his life. The insecurity that arose from the slight possibility that  
he doesn't get a partner today stayed warm and harsh in his veins, scathing to the papery walls.  
Taking a deep breath, Louis curls his dainty fingers around his sweater and folds in on himself. They watch  
civilisation roll by and the woods appear to overtake them.

"Out." She opens his door and he tumbles out, landing in dirt. "Tidy yourself and go wait inside."  
He nods and turns away without a scowl or glare in her direction.  
"What do you say?" She roars, using the infamous thin cane to whack his lower back.  
It stung and tears sprung to his eyes instantly, knowing that the skin must have been cut by such cruelty.  
"Y-Yes, headmistress." He choked on the rising sob and inhaled deeply.  
The house was wooden and three floors high. Snow stuck to the ground in a thick white blanket, coating the  
sharp pine needles with light dustings. Trees were tall and blocking out the dull sunlight from behind the  
clouds, seeming to peer down at him like he is the tiniest creature to walk among them.  
Louis gingerly hopped up the front steps and entered the front living room without a care for the sand on his  
knees and blood on the back of his sweater.

"Lou!" A feminine, friendly voice caught his attention.  
"Hey, Habid." He smiled weakly.  
She grabbed him in a tight hug before he can push her away to keep the sudden sting from the base of his  
crusty sweater from erupting.  
"Woah. What happened?" She lifts the back of his shirt to study the broken skin, pale and smooth but clearly  
not worthy. 

"Headmistress." Is all he had to say.  
She rolled her eyes and led him to a sofa. "Lie down on your front. I'll get you something to take care of that."  
He does as told and smashes his face into a cushion, groaning from the burn of his newest injury. No Dominus  
would want a broken mate and that wounded Louis' vulnerable heart.  
Everyone in here was beautiful and kind, genuine in their humility and polite mannerisms. Louis wasn't so  
timid and enjoyed playing in the rain, getting dirty by playing outside with his little siblings. His family was  
well to do because of his father but there was nothing extravagant about how they lived.  
Maybe he was getting the red sweet today.  
"Hey Lou." A second friend of his - his entire class was basically a big family - sat on the back of his knees.  
"Hmph?"

"Headmistress?" She poked the side of his cut.  
"Hmph."  
"You poor baby."  
"Get off him, Wally." Habid was back, bearing a first aid kit.  
"Sorry." She dismounted and sat on the arm rest of the adjacent couch.  
"Who else is here?" Louis asks the girls.  
"Hang on. Pops!" Wally shouted across the room.  
"Yeah?" Came the faint reply from somewhere by the fireplace.  
"Who's here already?"  
"All present."  
"They're all here, Lou."

He laughs into the soft pillow and turns on his side after Habid's done nursing his back.  
When two in the evening comes, everybody's settled down in front of the large television screen watching a  
movie Louis can't pay attention to. It's a cartoon and Louis probably should be watching it but he's just gotten  
his sweet wrapped in black paper and can't bring himself to open it.  
He didn't hear screams or protests so everyone else had white. He knew he had red that way and held back  
tears, cries to God about what he had done to deserve this. He kept on a brave face for everyone else because  
he was not going to ruin their special day.

The door creaked opened and a little boy came in. All eyes snapped to him, and behind his back they could  
see the silhouette of a new arrival. He wore a red coat and had his back to them.   
The atmosphere was thick with anticipation. The excitement and fear were tangible, making everything more  
surreal. Not for Louis though. He knew this wasn't never going to be a happy ending for him.  
Habid gripped Louis' hand tightly as the boy looked around the room, seeking out the face he was told to  
know.

"Samantha Grey." The boy finally said.  
Samantha was seated at the back of the room, doodling on some paper, and when she heard her name she  
froze. Louis knew she'd go first. Being the only male in a class of forty other females, he had a find of sixth  
sense.

When Samantha left, lead by the little boy holding her hand, everyone bolted for the windows. Louis lifted the  
corner of a lace curtain to observe them outside, and he'd be lying if he said it wasn't the sweetest thing he's  
seen.

Sam was a shy girl and nor did she have an offering, but her Dominus had a rose for her. Everyone cooed on  
the inside as Samantha's cheeks turned red and it started to snow.  
"Is it snowing?" Someone asked.  
"Shh!" Wally hissed.  
Her shushing made more noise than the actual question and the Dominus' head snapped in their direction.  
Louis panicked and dropped the curtain, closing his eyes on top of that.  
"Are they gone?" Wally tried to see past the curtain. "Are they?"  
"Looks like it." Habid sighed.

From there, a girl's name was called every ten minutes. They never came back in and that was understood.  
Habid squealed when her name was called and Wally had to be waken up from a nap to have her moment.  
Louis watched all of his friends go and refused to let himself feel inferior or stupid.  
He was finally left with the girl he spoke least with, Rose. She was kind and very quiet. They sat watching  
another cartoon until the door opened for the last time.

Louis didn't even look because he knew it wasn't for him. Rose's name was called and his heart finally gave up  
the hope that hung on by a thread.  
He wished her luck, smiled and watched her go. After that, he switched off the television and just to prolong  
the time spent before he begged someone to end his life so he didn't have to be with a man ugly at heart and  
body, cleaned up the girls' mess.

It wasn't as if his hopes were at a hundred percent because he was a boy and almost every Dominus didn't  
want a partner like him. Maybe he could use that and beg for his life.  
He even took the trash out, enjoying the bitter cold and how it made his skin flush from the frost. He exhaled  
white puffs of air and dumped the bag beside the bins. It was dark out, crickets were singing and owls were  
hooting.

There was no rustling, no hope of being killed by a stray beast. A completely silent night.   
As Louis dusted his hands, something collided with his back and when he was about to crash into a stone wall,  
it caught his waist to haul him away from it. It felt human so maybe the last Dominus didn't arrive as yet.  
"Why would hey leave you for last?" The voice belonging to this stranger speaks up from behind Louis' back.  
Louis wriggles free of this person's grasp and turns on his heel to face them, slightly irritated by their forward  
nature.

"Excuse me?" He says to a man whose face he cannot see through the shadow of a hoodie.  
"I saw you watching us through the window." He lifts his head. "I came with my brother because he didn't want  
to make the trip alone."  
Louis didn't know why he was being told this and crossed his arms over his chest when the wild wind whipped  
around him. This stranger dropped their hoodie and revealed what Louis believes to be the most beautiful man  
alive.

He has creases by his cheeks, definitive proof of dimples; shoulder-length dark brown hair and skin that's  
slightly tanned. The tips were a little curly and very unruly by the way they framed his long face, punctuating  
his grace. Louis assumes he comes from somewhere near the midlands.  
Deeming this conversation over, Louis smiles politely. "I'm sorry. I have to go now."  
The stranger won't let him budge. "Are you alone here now, haud mirum?"  
Louis feels slightly uneasy and steps back, only to have his acquaintance shuffle forward. This stranger spoke  
Latin.

"I-I am."  
"You are breathtakingly beautiful." This man says, offering up a small smile as well. "Forgive me, haud mirum.  
My name is Harry."  
"I'm Louis."  
"I didn't come with the intention of mating but it seems I've become prey to your eyes. They are very blue,  
haud mirum. The bluest I've ever seen."

Louis looks at the snow hanging onto his shoe, cheeks having more reason to redden. Maybe this could be it  
for him, a way out. He's looking at this enchanting individual who was a foot taller than him with a far more  
impressive muscle structure that could cage him in and hold him close forever. His eyes sparkly like little stars  
and Harry's darker emeralds reflect that phenomenon, enthralled and captivated by it.  
He becomes deeply saddened when he remembers what is already promised to him.  
"I w-wish it could be." Louis shrugs tiredly. "But I've already gotten my fate sealed in candy."  
Harry's eyebrows fly up to meet his hairline. "Pardon?"  
"I-I...it's tradition."

"Oh." Harry chuckled in recollection. "The tale of the red sweet, yes?"   
Louis nods solemnly. It weight heavy on his heart.  
"Do not be saddened." Harry stepped closer, itching to reach out and caress this magnificent creature. "I have  
the power to take you away."  
"I can't ask that of you." Louis looks up with wide, deep blue eyes. "You aren't my Dominus and we don't know  
each other."  
"I am your Dominus now." Harry strips off his coat and drapes it over Louis' shoulders. "I'd like to ask for your  
hand."

Louis felt his heart flutter and tummy tighten as the coat that wrapped around him infiltrated his senses. Spice  
and vanilla with musk. Harry's scent was both strong and comfy. Louis grinned, pleased to his core knowing  
that he wasn't going to end up thrown to a miserly death. He hugged Harry around his middle, not caring for  
the rules that stated he wasn't allowed to initiate anything.  
"My brother told me that there is an evening masquerade later." Harry settled into the embrace like they've  
been doing it for years. "Will you be by my side for the evening, Louis?"  
Louis nodded and pulled away from Harry, not wanting the man to feel too uncomfortable or that Louis was  
too forward. He felt the urge to sneeze but held it in until Harry had escorted him back into the warmth of the  
house.

"Your jacket?" Louis made to remove it but Harry stopped him.  
"Keep it safe for me, haud mirum." Harry kissed Louis' forehead for an extended moment. "I'm sorry I'm ill  
prepared."  
"I am too despite having months to get ready." Louis giggles and the hairs on Harry's body stand to attention.  
"How will you leave here?"  
Louis' smile falls and his slight joy fades. "My headmistress will fetch me since I am the last one."  
"You are not the last one anymore." Harry secures the side of his face with a large hand. "You are my only  
one."

Louis' smile picks up again when Harry makes him laugh by constantly nudging the side of his face with his  
cheek. It elicits a soft giggle from the boy and Harry kisses Louis' lips for the first time.  
Louis gasps suddenly, turning bright pink and touching his lips with his fingers. "You're not supposed to do  
that."  
Harry's lips tasted like the crashing of waves against smooth shoreline rocks and the peaceful chirping of the  
finest bird perched on the tallest trees. He tasted like tranquillity and the home Louis' soul has been searching  
to harbour itself in, as Harry's makes preparations to burrow into the boy's warmth.  
"I'm not supposed to kiss the one I love?" Harry chuckles, not withdrawing as he cupped Louis' blushing cheek  
and pressed their foreheads together.

"You don't love me, Harry." Louis admonishes, playful yet hopeful. "It's too early."   
"Louis." Harry disapproves. "Our mates are chosen unlike people who pick their spouses. We have  
predetermined partners, something that we have in common. That same thing made me accompany my  
brother. Can you imagine if I hadn't?"  
The revelation makes Louis look at Harry like he isn't of this earth, carved by the Gods and made into a  
hologram to mock him. Then something clicked. Creatures don't have predetermined partners unless they  
were what his grandmama called creatures that had been taken by the night.

They weren't legend nor were they myth. A specimen of Dominus status came from every species and this kind  
was scariest. They were the only kind that could have two forms, shed blood as wolf and man. They had  
mates, not marriages.  
"Wh-What are you?" Louis had his hand captured by Harry's, his smaller palm is prisoner to Harry's that can  
completely envelope it.

His eyes nervously met Harry's like he knew they were meant to be but terribly afraid of that not being true.  
Louis closes his eyes when Harry leans all the way in, not for a kiss but to nuzzle his neck like a wolf does. He  
answered the question without a word and Louis gasped at his arms being thrown over Harry's shoulders.  
"That question never fails to offend me, haud mirum." Harry had his body curled around Louis' in his most  
defensive, protective stance. "I am who I am and that is all I can offer you to love."

Louis' flattened hand was compressed between them, eyelids falling open when Harry presses them close  
enough to be aligned. He stares into green at his Dominus and accept what he says as the holy truth, nothing  
else having any meaning.  
He had to take this man home to his father. So what if he had half a wolf for a lover?  
"Without you-"Louis casts his gaze downwards, upset with himself. "-"I'd belong to someone with red skin and  
a black heart."

Harry isn't having any of his shame and tilts Louis' head back, their noses brushing. "I may not have come with  
the intention of taking you but I'm not leaving without you to call mine."  
"I wish I was enough for you." Louis brushes Harry's well-defined jaw with his unsure fingertips and blushes  
when his hip gets a squeeze. "That I was enough to bring you here just for me."  
"I'm still in my last year of training. I'd only have been asked next year." Harry revealed not so hesitantly,  
wanting to be honest with the boy he's seeing his future in the eyes of.  
"They won't allow us to be together, Harry!" Louis whisper-shouts, already drawing away in panic.  
Harry doesn't allow it, won't allow his intended to part with him. He circles his hands around Louis' forearms,  
fingers overlapping around the thin bone and rubbing soothingly over the soft, cold skin. "Stop being so eager  
to pull away from me because I've known you all of six minutes, and already don't think I could ever let you  
go."

Harry drops and tightens his arm around Louis' back. The smaller male cries out from the pressure on his cut.  
"What is it?" Harry questions, concerned by the alarming noise from Louis' cracked lips.  
"It's nothing." Louis takes Harry's arm away from his back.   
"Haud mirum, you owe me nothing but the truth." Harry's inner dominance begins to shine through when  
there's a threat to his request.  
"It's my fault." Louis instead sputters worriedly, troubled that the injury might cause Harry to reject him.  
"What is? Louis, let me see."  
Louis had never heard such a demanding voice and he immediately released Harry's hand so the man can  
investigate. Harry sees the cut after asking Louis to turn around and lift his shirt. The skin of his lower back is  
torn apart across a narrow, short cut that's a slit instead of a burn.  
"Oh, my darling boy." Harry cooes, standing up from his knees and taking Louis in his arms once again. "Was it  
your headmistress?"

Louis nods against Harry's shoulder, tickling his cheek against the soft fabric of Harry's shirt.  
"I'll take you home now, you need not spend anymore time with her." Harry promises, gaining Louis' trust as  
he slips his hand into the boy's.  
Harry led Louis down the hill on foot and lifted him up off the ground when they had to pass a stream. Even  
afterwards when they'd reached the road and the snow thinned to tiny snowflakes falling around them, getting  
lodged in Harry's hair, the Dominus did not set him down.  
"Harry." Louis swallowed, eyes never moving from Harry's artful side profile. He had the ideal Dominus  
physical structure, strong body and firm muscle. Deep-set eyes with a tough grip on everything he held. "How  
will we be together if you're not old enough yet?"  
Instead of a disgruntled response, Harry's lips are dampened by his tongue darting out to lick over them then  
his mouth twisting into a smirk at the corner. "You will come to my home and be by my side."  
"You have your own home?" Louis twisted his finger into the collar of Harry's shirt, intrigued by such a silky  
fabric.

"Yes." Harry hops down from a log and continues walking alongside the snowy road, Louis in his arms and the  
sky darkening above their heads. "A Dominus must run their own home from their youngest year."  
Louis frowns, picking out snowflakes from Harry's hair. "How young is that, Dominus?"  
Harry's eyes briefly slid across to side then back ahead. "Fourteen."  
Gasping without commanding himself to, Louis' eyes widen at the new knowledge. Adolescents are made to  
keep themselves standing with houses when they are pronounced Dominus. "What about your family?"  
"Having a Dominus child is not easy. My family was not allowed to help me, nor my brother."  
Louis feels sympathetic and wraps his arms around Harry's neck to affectionately nuzzle the side of his face,  
warming up what was vacant and love what was abandoned. "You have me now."  
"Yes." Harry growls and his arms get more restricting around Louis, keeping him pinned. "I won't have to  
endure another day alone." 

Louis' house came into sight and he pointed it out, heart hammering with the thought of his grandmama  
meeting big and scary Harry. The Dominus was neutral and even a little anticipatory because the sooner he  
met Louis' family, the sooner he could whisk his other half away to their own world.  
He knew he was meant for someone out there, but he never expected such a deep connection with another  
soul that it knitted his broken pieces together. Such completion and admiration, his adoration should not be  
possible yet it is with this blue-eyed beauty.

"This is my home." Louis gets freed of Harry's hold just as he notices movement at his living room window.  
Harry's gaze falls on him in scrutiny, eyebrow quirked so that he corrects that statement. Louis belongs to him  
now, with him. There is no place on this planet for him except the roof Harry puts over his head. Nobody  
blamed him for these aggressive thoughts. A Dominus is bred and taught to lead, to provide for his own  
family when he earns one. He is given a difficult life from day one, made hard and cold.  
"It's where I grew up." Louis takes Harry's hand, slotting their fingers together easily, and pulling him forward  
with him towards the porch.

Harry grunts, something more authoritative and misting over his calm exposure takes over him as he senses  
another dominant figure. That always made a Dominus feel challenged, and his chest rumbled with vibrations  
of upset as Louis guided him through the front door into an environment that smelt of toast and wine.  
When Louis' done kicking off his shoes and about to walk further into his house, bare feet on a coarse carpet,  
Harry takes affirmative action to prove himself the most important to the boy. His hands settle with merciless  
strength on Louis' hips, mouth attacking the boy's neck as he partially sinks his teeth into the supple skin.  
Louis is obviously pained by the experience and whines in a high pitch, the prickle of Harry's teeth too great  
and uncomfortable for him. A wolf mates this way but in a more intimate way with a deeper mark, except right  
now Harry's wolf is not willing to risk another Dominus influencing Louis. He will have this boy under his arm  
and nowhere else.

When Harry lifts off his throat there is a bright red bruise covered in a fine glisten of saliva from Harry's bite.  
Two tiny puncture marks heal over but the bruise doesn't, throbbing beneath Louis' fingertips when he makes  
contact with them.  
"What-"  
"Your father is here." Harry's arm comes to rest around Louis' middle, holding the smaller male against him.  
"He will not take you from me."  
"Of course he won't." Louis tries to convince him, huffing when Harry kisses the mark and his tongue licks over  
it.

"Well good evening." A frail female voice greets them from the foyer, wrinkled and bemused smile playing on  
Louis' grandmama's lips.  
Harry looked mighty big in their humble abode. He was tall and intimidating and never spoke unless he felt  
the absolute need to. It was an innate trait for a Dominus to exude confidence and arrogance rather than good  
manners to win over a heart. They never won a war being softies.  
"Relax, moonpie." She said to Louis when the latter tried to bring Harry to meet the other members of his  
family. "Your Dominus is not going to let us have a piece of you now that he's gotten one." 

Louis looked at Harry in mild exasperation but the Dominus is occupied with nosing along the mark he made.  
He was going to let Louis speak to his loved ones now as long as it was from the confines of his arms. A  
Dominus lives a lonely, unfulfilled life from a very young age until they can claim a partner. Harry being a wolf  
meant an even greater, longer struggle. He will never allow Louis to part with him for others.

He does meet Louis' entire family and looks at them all as if they were threats, pressing his body a little closer  
to Louis as each one introduced themselves. When Louis' father arrived, Harry had full-blown black eyes and  
an irremovable snarl from his plump lips. They were sinful but guarding deadly canines beneath them.  
It began to unsettle the calm at the base of Louis' spine, making him desperate for a sense of security. Harry's  
fingers only formed more bruises on his hips where they held on with stealth and strength, both unforgiving  
on his tender flesh.  
"Harry." He hoped his cracking voice would convince the Dominus to lessen his tension, but Harry thought it to  
be a sign that his mate was feeling unsafe and needed his further protection.

Looking into the eyes of the man who guarded Louis his entire life, shielded him and his family from any form  
of harm, made Harry split open at the seams. Every meeting went like this, from one Dominus to another.  
Passing of a hand from father to suitor was not an extensive process, and was rated in meaning by how the  
suitor handled it.  
Their world is stereotypical and harsh. A new Dominus fated to have their life connected with another young  
soul, must prove themself worthy by outshining the older Dominus who parented that young soul. A healthier,  
youthful Dominus ought to take what is theirs.

"None of this tonight." Grandmama spoke up first, obscuring both Louis' father's and Harry's staring contest.  
"We may not have a feast prepared but we certainly have food. We must welcome Louis' wolf consort."  
Harry's vision diverts to her, surprised by her ability to tell what he is without a question posed in his  
direction. Louis is proud to call her his grandmama and giggles when Harry's throat makes a curious grumble.  
"Grandmama was once part of the council that handles my school." Louis explains softly, his sweet voice  
soothing the inner rumble of Harry's chest as the boy's small hand settles over Harry's heart and his lips reach  
his ear. "No one here is a threat, my love."

Even whilst saying it Louis knew it would do nothing, if at most calm Harry's anxiety for a short while before  
his instincts flare and he's forced to put himself on top again.  
At dinner, Harry spared no inkling of time thinking of Louis being seated anywhere besides his lap. Louis'  
father regarded him with interest. He may not have been actively involved with the nurturing of Louis'  
character as he grew, but he still concerned himself with the choice of soulmate for his son.  
Harry is broad-shouldered and overbearing even at this extremely early stage, but he respected that because  
he had been the same. Louis was delicate and Harry would easily become the warrior meant to protect him  
forever, father their children and be a delightful mate.

Harry being a wolf is not what he had expected, as wolves are rare and very impulsive. Even considering this,  
Louis' father sees his son being very happy with this man.  
"Are you no longer hungry, haud mirum?" Harry asked Louis, rubbing the boy's hip where he sat on his closed  
thigh. 

Louis' grandmama watched them interact from the behind the rim of her glass, smirking at how comfortable  
they were with each other. Louis was turned to have his side fitted under Harry's chin, the Dominus holding  
him close and possessively with both arms wound around his form.  
When Louis spoke, he had Harry's utmost focus. The boy was smiling and Harry was in easily interpreted  
adoration of his sweet partner, thumbing at Louis' cheekbones and jaw slowly.  
"Not hungry." Louis replied slowly, softly. He's only eaten a branch of broccoli, some bites of chicken and a  
spoonful of sauce.

Harry brought his lips to the skin below Louis' ear, dragging them against the surface as he spoke so that the  
boy shivered with the assault. "When you are my responsibility, haud mirum, you will eat far more than this or  
have me force-feed you."

Something in Louis' abdomen tightened. Harry bringing himself forth to accepting his responsibility towards  
Louis, makes him shudder in delight. "You haven't eaten either, Harry."  
Something flashed across Harry's eyes, too quick to be read.  
"A Dominus never eats for the first week that he is training." Louis' father knew better than to interrupt a wolf  
while he was speaking, and so raised his voice to answer his child's unheard question beforehand. "They single  
out the strong ones in that way."

When Louis looked back towards Harry, the Dominus was stiff with tension that laced his every blink and  
breath. "They starved you?"  
Louis' father's eyes shimmer with the prospect of this discussion. A Dominus had to discuss with their  
partners, more so with wolves, the process and experiences of their training to ensure they weren't marred  
physically or mentally.

The Dominus gender was not perfect. They were made superior by the trauma they're made to experience so  
that nothing affected them negatively in the real world. No Dominus came out of their training healthy. There  
was always a scar, a damaged trait that spoke of their past.  
"Eat everything on this plate, haud mirum." Harry clears his throat and even that, such a harmless sound,  
thunders across the ceiling of their dining room like a threat.

Louis looked at the abundance of food and his stomach did an unsavoury flip. Today has not been the best of  
days for him because so much has happened when he's used to a boring routine each time he wakes up,  
eliciting a mild headache above his lost appetite.

Harry whispered lowly in Louis' ear when the boy didn't move an inch. "I'm not asking, haud mirum."  
Louis shyly raises his hand in perfect tandem with Harry's palm sliding across his tummy, locking down on his  
other hip. The boy finds himself blushing when Harry shifts his legs that results in him falling back abruptly.  
His hand lands on Harry's chest and he's slightly tilted, righting himself by wrapping an arm around Harry's  
neck.

All the while Harry's eyes stayed glued to his, emotions hooded beneath the green outline of his pupil. The  
Dominus was just as nervous as he was, no doubt. Harry kept glancing at Louis' neck and back up to the boy's  
lips or eyes, a muted strangled noise almost breaking free.  
"Will you eat with me?" Louis asked, soft as a kitten in appearance and vaguely shaky voice. His duty to the  
Dominus was to keep him happy and healthy.   
Harry met his gaze and it was filled with a strength so alight with sparks of empowerment from his wolf, that  
Louis was shocked and awed by watching it slowly dim into loyalty. "I am your Dominus, haud mirum. I do  
what you ask of me when you ask it."

Louis smiles, looking down at his lap and curling his fingers into Harry's collar. The heat escaping to his  
cheeks becomes unbearable when Harry's face is blocked in his neck, nuzzling affectionately and hoping for a  
return exchange. Louis can only turn his head a little and frame Harry's neck with both his hands, his eyes  
slipping shut as Harry breathes raggedly into his pulse.  
They were alone at the table but they didn't notice. Louis gasped at a squeeze to his lower back. "You are my  
Dominus and you will be my love."

Harry is pleased immensely with his confession and hugs his future mate around his middle. Any secrets can  
remain hidden for a while longer until they were really alone.  
Louis' plate of food was polished off soon enough with Harry's aid. He shared the bread rolls and salad with  
Harry, still too nervous to feed him like experienced couples would. Being in Harry's lap with Harry's arms  
around him, he feels safe and shy.

* * * * *

"Forgive me, haud mirum. I have lied to you through omission." Harry came forth while they were outside on  
Louis' back porch, relaxing amongst the snowy landscape together.  
Everyone was inside and watching every odd moment through a hallway window, making Louis giggle and turn  
his head away. Like always he was in Harry's company with a mug of something warm in his hands, seated  
across from the Dominus in his own chair.

"Sorry?" Louis thinks he didn't hear correctly, and his heart begins to crack the inside of his ribcage.  
Could his fairytale be over so soon? He panics at the thought and sets the mug down with a violently shaking  
hand, quickly pressing both arms against his chest afterwards.  
Harry observes everything that he does and a sad look bleeds over his beguiling emeralds. "You do not know  
everything about me."

Louis watches Harry stand up and the swollen wooden floorboards creak with his movement. "I've known you  
for half a day, Harry."  
Looking at this beautiful creature that could be his, Harry wants to lay himself bare for Louis. His only secret is  
one he's kept from everyone, which is exceptionally easy because he knew no one besides his brother. There  
were no friends or family besides his one sibling, which led to minute reservations about finally sharing his life  
with someone else.  
"Harry- What are you doing?" Louis sounds deeply alarmed when Harry's both hands reach for his own belt  
buckle.

He tries not to raise his voice so as not to alert the attention of his family that lay impatiently awaiting his  
return indoors, forced to slap his hands over his eyes when Harry doesn't stop shedding his bottom layer of  
clothing. He knew Harry didn't plan to try anything forward with him as there was none of that charge in the  
air, no promise of arousal or being forced to give up what he's guarded his entire life.   
"Haud mirum, look at me." Harry desperately encouraged, sounding so very much like a broken man with  
unbreakable strength.

Louis shook his head and vehemently refused, pressing his fingertips into his eyes further hoping it would  
shut out what he isn't meant to see. Harry grows tired of it, insecure in his own way and being shred to pieces  
because Louis is rejecting the truth about the flaw he has about him.  
"Louis." Harry uses his dominant nature to add a lethal edge to his voice, driving a steady shiver down Louis'  
spine.

Obeying the Dominus' command, Louis tentatively uncovers his eyes and peeks through his fingers at what  
he's supposed to see. It takes a breath and a half for his hands to fall away completely, his lips parted as cold  
air gushes in to emphasise his surprise.

"Harry....-" He trails off, scrambling to his feet whilst staring evidently at Harry, eyes wide and mind blank.  
As outrageous as Louis thought it to be that Harry simply dropped an item of his garb so publicly, he could  
see now that it was for a reason. One of what was supposed to be pale, lean and muscular legs has been  
replaced by the cold inanimation of a wooden substitute.  
Harry had a prosthetic leg.  
The quilt from around Louis' shoulders falls into his grip as he curls his fingers around the edges. He knows  
that this is his turn to accept and can easily do so without judging, for this Dominus is willing to have him.  
Cautiously he steps around the coffee table that separates them and connecting their gazes to never part  
ways.

Harry was afraid again and it wasn't so difficult to pick up on. When Louis got to him, Harry's eyes were  
guarded and he went stiff all over at seeing his future mate drape the quilt around him instead. The shock was  
apparent in how his eyes grew to be so much greener, accepting it and holding onto Louis when the boy  
hugged him tightly.

"How?" Louis asked in a quiet tone, hushed to keep the secret between them.  
The Dominus need not redo the button or zip of his own trousers as Louis did it for him, all the while  
something else becoming tangible in the air above their heads. Harry felt satisfied like he never thought  
possible when he tucks Louis in under his chin, arms crossing over the smaller male's back to keep him  
secured.

"A hunt." Harry replies stoically. "We are told to always go out as wolves when we hunt, but the day was long  
and I thought I could bring home the first herbivore I saw."  
Louis flinched at the story and gripped Harry's shirt so tightly in his tiny fists that the Dominus made himself  
more protective instantly, responding to the boy's insecurity. Louis couldn't let this Dominus go. He could see  
himself loving no other person besides Harry.

"I will be your mate." Louis says, sure of himself. He buries his face in Harry's chest and finds solace in the  
steady beat of Harry's heart. "I will be by your side always."

"Yes, haud mirum." Harry kissed Louis' forehead and wrapped the quilt around them both, binding them  
together. "I can think of no greater gift than you, from the Gods to me."


	2. Chapter two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> written by SS98

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by the lovely ss98 . i have no affirmation with the making of this fanfic

Harry only left Louis at the last moment when the night was worsening from navy to pitch black, and they had  
to part ways. He stood two steps below Louis at the front porch with his eyes boring into the younger soul's,  
holding onto both of Louis' hands with his.

"I will come for you at the earliest hour, haud mirum." Harry said to him in the juncture of his neck, dragging  
his lips over the goosebumps of his future mate whist adoring him as much as he could.

"I will wait for you." Louis wrapped his hands around Harry's wrists and laid a warm kiss on the Dominus' jaw.

Grumbling pleasantly, Harry withdrew from Louis' body and let go of the boy when he least wanted to. He  
skipped the last step on his departure and turned around just as he was about to disappear into the street,  
lowering his upper half in a bow just for his love before blowing Louis a kiss with his fingers to his lips.

Louis laughed loudly into the night and returned the act of fondness with just as much enthusiasm. He felt  
extra warm and like Harry's body was still wrapped around him when he stepped back into his home, chewing  
his lip and letting the dampness on his cheek swallow him up.

It was after he'd showered and wandered to the kitchen for a glass of milk when his grandmama caught him.  
"Come sit with me, moonpie."

Louis obliged and slid into a seat beside her, framing his tall glass with both hands and shyly hiding behind  
the curtain of his hair. Today has turned him into something else, the man who entered his life and claimed  
his heart has stolen his outwardness.

"You seem quite taken with the young man who brought you home earlier." She starts by saying, side-eyeing  
her grandson as he slowly sipped his midnight beverage.

The rest of the house was swathed in peaceful silence, the late hour allowing them to slip into their slumber  
without hindrance. Louis swallows the cool liquid and enjoys the sensation of his coating his insides on its  
path Southward, chilling his nerves.

"I am." He says slowly, the crickets nearly drowning out his voice entirely. "I think he is with me too."

"Oh certainly." His grandmother proclaims, tying up her silk robe at the front and putting her wrinkled palm  
over his. "Moonpie, do be careful with this man."

Louis raises his head to look her, meeting those sapphire eyes that were identical to his own. "What do you  
mean, grandma?"

"I mean that a Dominus is a scary creature." She explains to him whilst remembering her time finding her  
other half. "He is a wolf and wolves mate. That is something this family has never seen before."

"Is that-" He swallows. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No, no. Love, meeting a wolf is a wonderful thing and being mated to them is even more so. However, your  
Dominus seems to be a little volatile. He will frighten you at times, but make sure to hold your own."

Louis can feel sweat developing at the back of his neck. "Grandma, he's not finished his training yet. Will they  
keep us apart because of that?"

"I sincerely doubt it. He consents and he is Dominus. Nobody can stop you two if that is true."

Feeling less tense, Louis smiles and helps his grandmama off her chair when she's ready to go to bed. He  
kisses her cheek and watches her ascend the staircase, without risking a limb by offering to help. When the  
house is cloaked in silence once more he glances out the window at the glorious moon and imagines a greeneyed wolf howling at it.

* * * * *

"Haud mirum."

Louis had hardly finished the packing he's supposed to be doing when he spotted a black figure in a lengthy  
trenchcoat near his snowy garden, and ran downstairs like the wind. He threw the door open when Harry was  
just at the base step and eliminated the distance between them by jumping into the man's arms.  
"Hi." He finally said when he felt secure with the hands braced around his lower back and face buried in his  
neck.

Harry's chest let out vibrations that pressed into Louis' torso, his slipping fingertips being careful not to go too  
far. He had been knocked off balance when Louis lunged at him but he corrected his stance and held the boy  
close all while his elder brother made his way over from their vehicle.

"You found the right one, brother." He said to Harry. "He is full of life and you are in desperate need of that."  
Louis peeked over Harry's shoulder and saw that his brother was just as tall, with a well aged bout of features  
to his face. Over his right eye however, was an unmistakeable scar which didn't allow for the eyelid to open  
fully. Their complexions were the same icy white and their eyes were the same forest green. Harry had a  
strong and prominent jaw while his brother held a thin, long neck and bushy eyebrows.  
"You are Louis." The older son of the Styles name spoke to the boy Harry was trying to shield from him. "I'm  
Jeremiah. My brother has told me nothing about you except that."

Louis decided it was a good time to get back on his own two feet, and slid to the ground so his socks met the  
frozen wood. "It's lovely to meet you, Jeremiah. There isn't much to know about me so don't worry about it."  
Harry deemed the conversation over and threw his brother a warning glance to cease the communication as he  
draped his arm over Louis' shoulders and turned him away. Louis made the choice to follow after his Dominus  
and walked away from Jeremiah after giving him a small smile.

Jeremiah was Harry's brother through blood and not bond. They saw each other through childhood and now  
again to make this trip, nothing about their relationship was fond or protective. A Dominus looked after  
himself and his own, which they both were.  
"Have you done your packing, haud mirum?" Harry walked up the steps with Louis and frowned at the boy's  
lack of footwear. 

"Almost." Louis led him by his hand through the doorway and living room, up the stairs to his bedroom.  
Everyone was still asleep as the sun has barely risen and the birds are still occupying themselves with the  
tunes of a lark. Louis closed his door soundly and turns around to see Harry looking around his room. There's  
nothing special about a single bed, pale walls and one broken window. He never complained because he slept,  
worked and daydreamed here in peace.

"You will have a better room with me." Harry announces, not touching anything as he seated himself on the  
edge of Louis' unmade bed.

Harry didn't fit into Louis' little haven of a bedroom. He was prim and proper after building his own character,  
developing his own livelihood through savage means. Every part of him was marred and worn down, made to  
come out so much stronger on the other side.  
"Oh." Louis stepped past him in a cramped space to begin loading the third of his three boxes. He bit his lip  
fearfully as he spoke again. "Will I have my own room?"  
He doesn't see Harry turn to stare at him. "Would you like your own room, haud mirum? I will give you  
anything you want."

When Louis looks over to Harry the Dominus has such earnest honesty displaced in the green of his eyes that  
it takes his breath away. He opens his mouth and stutters. The scrutiny of Harry's stare and intensity of his  
attention never failed to make him blush.  
"I-I-" Louis has to look away in order to keep his wits about him, although two holes burn into his back from  
Harry's stare. "Aren't we supposed to stay together? I don't mind if we do."  
He holds his breath while he waits for a response, praying that he didn't come across as too forward. It is  
customary for the Dominus to share a room with who he has chosen to share his life with, irrespective of  
where they stood physically in the relationship. Harry is still training of course and that allows them the  
benefit of the doubt.

"If you so desire, haud mirum." Harry spoke to the air between them, letting it brush against Louis' nape like a  
cool breeze that chilled him down to his core. "You may be with me at all times that I can be yours in return."  
Harry stands and Louis hears his heavy footsteps make their way closer, leather boots with a glossy gold  
buckle resounding against his panelled flooring. When he's a breath away, Louis can feel the warmth of his  
body radiating heat onto his own skin. Harry's left leg, the wooden prosthetic one, nudges accidentally the  
back of Louis' own.

"I look forward to it." Louis' wording comes out in a whispered exhale, goosebumps forming on the skin where  
Harry touched him.

Harry's hands find the flesh of his hips to dedicate their loyalty to, holding onto Louis at his lower waist whilst  
fitting their bodies together. It is successful when he feels Louis settle back against him, his chest to Harry's  
back, and his fluid folding motions slowing down to prolong their time.  
"My home has been missing you." Harry says to him, a type of strain present in his voice.

* * * * * 

Harry travelled separately to his brother, Jeremiah. They came to two cars and Louis feels saddened to think  
his Dominus travelled alone to come to him, unknowing of what he would find. Who he would find.  
Louis packed the last of his life, even so it was just the essentials that he'd require to survive. His family spent  
many minutes bidding him farewell, teary kisses and sad smiles being exchanged while he kept one hand  
locked with Harry's. When time was up, which Harry deemed so, the Dominus pulled Louis away from his loved  
ones and helped him into the SUV that will bring him to his new home.

Inside the high vehicle, Louis got a seat near the window where he could wave goodbye his bloodline family  
before heading towards his future. Harry told the driver something after shutting Louis' door and he was  
distracted by the response when he was climbing into the back-seat as well.  
Louis looks at him surprised as he'd expected the Dominus to sit across from him, not right next to. He can't  
smother his giggle when Harry turns his head and notices that he is there too. Harry's frown eases up into an  
amused expression that brightens his eyes and lightens the awkwardness.  
"No, don't." Louis interrupts when Harry makes to change seats, grabbing hold of the man's forearm before he  
can stop himself.

Their eyes meet and he can see that Harry's in dire need for him to say something more, without making it a  
command.

"Sit with me." He goes on to say, loosening his grip on the fabric of Harry's sleeve.  
They may not plan to be cosy or conversational for the entire trip but when Harry sits back down they both  
know it will be the most calm, most pleasant silence of their lives. Harry makes himself comfortable again  
right beside his mate - future mate - without shrugging off the hold Louis has on his arm, instead hoping it  
doesn't ever go away.

* * * * *

"You have horses!" Louis squeals with epic excitement as he abandons his bags to approach the fence that  
guarded the furry creatures.

There was one of two standing right at the edge, braying with the attention Louis gives to the stallion by  
rubbing its muscular neck. Louis loves animals, from the tiniest critters to the giant beasts. He can't help but  
admire these beauties and giggle at their majesty even as the tall black creature nudges his side.  
The second horse is a snow white mare and she's not looking at Louis from where she's settling down for the  
night.

The late hour doesn't seem to bother Louis but it did bother Harry. This is not the territory Louis was born in  
and the dangers were not so bleak. Harry clears his throat and gathers the amount of bags he can carry.  
"Come inside, haud mirum."  
Harry doesn't have to wait long before a pair of lighter feet are following after him into his home. He smiles to  
himself as he walks through the front door and flips on the light for Louis' eyes to feast on the inside of his  
cabin.

There wasn't much. A Dominus had a home for himself and he either built it from scratch or had to money to  
have it done. Harry's home was a two bedroom getaway with sturdy wooden walls and small open-plan spaces.  
A kitchen with basic appliances and no windows save for the one in the living room where a sofa sat right  
below it. 

"There is no television." Harry tells Louis as he sets the boxes down on the floor by the boy's feet. "The second  
bedroom serves as a library. What's mine will now be yours as well."  
Louis looks at his Dominus a little shy, noting that they're now alone together far away from any civilisation.  
Their driver had been dropped off at a town that's tiny and an hour away, while their house stood in a forest of  
another world.

"Okay." He gets out, staring at the toe of his shoe.  
"Look at me." Harry suddenly instructs, and his eyes are warm but not unguarded when Louis sees them.  
"Haud mirum, this is your home now. Treat it as such."  
Louis nods and swallows so that it is visible, trying not to shiver from inexplicable nerves when Harry takes the  
side of his face in his hand. He knows he breathed out a hot puff of air that Harry could taste by how close he  
stood.

"You will be alone here when I am training." Harry informs him, not touching any other part of Louis. "I will  
come home to you every night at ten. You are not obliged to do anything for me, not until we've officially  
mated."

"I will-" Louis rushes to say, to please the Dominus. "I will do anything for you, Dominus. Just tell me."  
"Oh haud mirum." Harry breaks all boundaries and hauls Louis into his embrace, holding him so close that the  
boy is made to breathe into his chest and hug back around his waist. "I could never ask anything of you."  
Louis brings his hand to the buttons of Harry's black satin shirt, flicking the undone ones between his fingers.  
"When you come home at ten I'll have dinner ready."

"Unfortunately this house is ill-equipped with food supplies. I hunt everyday." Harry closes his eyes and hides  
in Louis' hair. "I will bring you fresh meat everyday in the middle of the day."  
Louis nods and scrapes the fabric of Harry's shirt with his nails. "What time do you leave everyday?"  
"An hour past dawn." Harry replies, already dreading the time that he has to awaken at a freezing cold time to  
leave his lovely mate. "Since we will be in the same room, I will make sure to tuck you in every morning before  
I leave."

As flattered as he is by Harry's commitment, Louis must be equally dedicated. "My love, I cannot sleep while  
you are awake."

Harry squeezed Louis between his arms, ignoring the rustling of the trees and the singing of crickets outside.  
"I see myself losing everything to you. Heart, mind, soul and body."

Louis' head falls back a little and he parts his lips, dry skin pulling on the other soft surface when Harry nears  
his mouth with his own. Before anything more can be spoken Harry's lips meet with his halfway and they're  
missing out on the world around them by wrapping themselves up in each other.'

Harry's possessive growl is undeniable when he leans into Louis and dips the tip of his tongue into the boy's  
mouth, licking his taste off the roof of his mouth. The deed makes Louis blush wildly and pull away with the  
remnants of Harry's essence still on him.   
"I'm sorry, haud mirum." Harry battles to organise his thoughts, his usual act of certainty torn apart by Louis'  
tender will. "I should not have-"

"No, no." Louis shakes his head and returns to his position pressed against Harry's torso, hands flat upon it.  
"You may kiss me whenever you.....feel the need to."

Harry's smirk brightens all the features on his face and reveals the two charming dimples embedded in his  
cheeks. "I am glad you saw it as a need,haud mirum. Kissing you will soon become my means of survival."  
Louis' thoughts are stolen from him when he hears Harry's passionate words, bowing his head in submission  
when the man cradles him. He tucks his face into Harry's neck and holds on for dear life, inhaling the  
comforting scent that lingered on Harry's bare skin.

"I will bring the rest of the bags in." Harry bends and Louis doesn't miss the wince that crosses his features,  
scooping the boy up and turning towards the staircase. "You will clean up and rest. Familiarise yourself with  
these walls tomorrow."

He's being carried up a short flight of steps and Harry stops at the first door to their left, kicking it open with  
the leg that isn't genuine. Louis bites his lip anxiously, worrying about the falter in Harry's step whenever he's  
being carried.

"This room-" Harry brings his mouth to Louis' ear, shocking him out of his mind. "-is now yours as well."  
With the light on Louis can take in the fine furnishings of this room. There's a panoramic, extensive window on  
the right wall that hides all wood and brick before leading out onto a balcony. The focal point was the bed.  
Covered in black linen and ancient iron wrought framework this mattress was, then came a small walk-in  
closet opposite the window. A bathroom was beside that closet and had no door.

Louis noticed how just one side of the bed had a night stand. He didn't say anything when he's put down onto  
his own feet and feels the cold flooring through his shoes.  
"It's cold up here." He harmlessly comments, walking around the room with his fingertips grazing over  
everything.

Harry watched him like an admirer from afar, quite overly taken with the many traits to love in this boy. "I have  
found methods to overcome that."  
Louis keeps from looking over his shoulder so as to keep Harry from noticing the extra colour in his cheeks.  
He watches the moon flicker from behind the clouds, in and out it appeared before vanishing again like a  
phantom.

He hears footsteps descend the staircase and releases a breath he hadn't known he was holding. With the  
room to himself, he decides to actually clean up the traces of staleness from a full day trip.  
After a thorough shower with water that needed to heat up first, Louis smiles when he sees just one towel  
beneath the sink and one toothbrush at the counter. He thinks it would be mischievous to use Harry's when  
his own is packed in his toiletry case, but double checks that he is in fact alone and does it anyway. The  
bristles taste like the minty toothpaste and Louis isn't ashamed to remember that Harry's mouth tasted the  
exact same.

Once his hair is dried with the same towel he used on his body, Louis makes his way into the bedroom again  
looking for clothing. His own hasn't been brought up yet and he realises that he was very foolish to not ensure   
that it had been done before taking a shower. Now he is left to the last resort, and pads sneakily into Harry's  
closet.

Harry walks into the room he is now sharing with Louis and raises his eyebrow when his attention is brought  
to a boy dragging one of his less important T-shirts off a hanger. He knows Louis hasn't seen him yet and  
remains silent, watching Louis pull the clothes on in a skilful way that never reveals any skin.  
He admires Louis' physique, curvy and warm in all the right places. Harry loves that Louis just fits against him  
and can be easily whisked away without requiring more strength than to lift a heavy cushion. His mate to be is  
a lovely little specimen.

"You have permission to use my clothes, haud mirum." He finally says, clearing the sandpapery feeling of his  
throat.  
Louis jumps from a fright and nearly slips on his bare feet, steadied by gripping Harry's cupboard door. He  
turns bright red when he notices Harry standing there, crossing his arms over his front self-consciously and  
curling his toes.

"Don't be nervous." Harry comes to him and raises his chin, looking into those almighty blue eyes.  
"I-I'm not." Louis tries to refuse, smiling weakly before relying entirely on Harry to guide his eyes.  
"I brought your things here." Harry gestures to something over his shoulder that Louis cannot see. "You may  
change if you want to."

Louis shakes his head and takes in what he looks like in a shirt he's drowning in with boxers that fit oddly on  
his hips. He's quite fond of the look. "I like what I-I'm wearing."  
"As long as you're happy, haud mirum, I have no objections." Harry presses a chaste kiss on Louis' forehead  
and snatches up his towel before leaving.

It's difficult to admit but Louis is exhausted and hardly gets a few of his belongings out to be slotted into the  
spaces Harry created before he's yawning and dragging his feet. The Dominus is still in the bathroom and  
Louis catches whiffs of his soap as he stacks a few folded boxes and leaves them in a corner of the closet.  
When Harry gets out he's using a different towel to the one Louis had and running his tongue along the ridges  
of his gums, making Louis want to burrow under the sheets. He chose the left side of the bed without a  
nightstand and fluffed up the single pillow before placing his own one from home over it.

The sheets were cool on his skin and began to warm up against the friction of him constantly moving. Harry  
reappears from the close and Louis hardly thinks to remember that one of his legs is wooden, only picking up  
on it again when Harry sits on the edge of the bed to remove it. The straps are stricter than ordinary ones and  
leave terrible gashes, even cuts, on his skin above the stub.

Louis sits up in bed. "You shouldn't leave it like that."  
Harry pulls himself back onto his allotted two pillows and looks angelic with a dark halo framing his head  
where he rested. The moon shone on one half of his face through the glass window and the other half was as  
dark as his occasional sadness.

"What, haud mirum?" He asks for specification, his good leg hidden by the sheets but the injured one exposed  
like a pale lump that looks soincomplete.  
"Your leg." Louis' eyes fall on the fatality and he wonders gravely how Harry got such a foul injury. "You're  
hurting yourself."  
Harry for the first time displayed a sign of nonchalance and momentarily weakened himself. "Haud mirum, a  
few more scars mean nothing."

"Still." Louis presses the matter and crosses his legs. "May I?"

In the darkness, Harry's interest piqued. "What are you asking permission for?"  
Louis is already off the bed and taking his bottle of cocoa butter lotion back over to the bed, the only sound in  
the house coming from his feet on the floor. "I'm going to take care of you, whether you like it or not."  
Harry's chuckle is audible in the calm atmosphere and Louis takes it as consent when he brings himself a little  
closer than before to the Dominus. He squirts some of the lotion onto his palms and carefully snaps the lid  
shut to prevent any spillage, once more asking for permission when he's spreading the white blob between his  
hands.

"You may, haud mirum." Harry's voice has significantly lowered and his body jerks at the cold contact of Louis'  
hands on him.  
Small, careful and gentle hands layer the lotion onto Harry's skin. Louis chews his lip raw as he tries not to  
worry himself greatly over the trauma the man must have faced when he lost his leg, keeping the emotions at  
bay whilst massaging with his fingertips. He tries to be as soothing as he can, rubbing away the rashes and  
bruises with slow care.

The entire time he worked Harry said nothing, but his clenched fists at his sides spoke for him. It made him  
uncomfortable and angry to think about how this fatality fell upon him, made his blood boil through the rivers  
of his veins.

Louis attempted to have a light as a feather touch when he came around the bend to where the stub of Harry's  
leg rest. The skin had been pulled to the centre when it was amputated, page white flesh has been sewn  
together to maintain the rest of this man. Louis can never see this as a flaw, but rather as a token to prove  
that his Dominus has seen the worst of life and come back to him.

"How- How did it happen?" Louis makes himself ask to feed the curiosity that sat idle in his mind, still gently  
working his fingers over what marks the wooden leg left behind.

Harry's fists were released and his eyes had to be opened to respond. Louis gave him a piece of calm and  
tranquillity that could never be found on his own. He loves that this boy can soothe his inner wolf.  
Just when Louis thinks he will never be answered, Harry's raspy voice fills the air. "I trained for more hours  
than usual and went out to hunt when I was...exhausted. I forgot to look over my back."  
Louis feels utterly sympathetic and gives Harry a small smile of his own that's sweet and genuine. The  
Dominus looks away and Louis isn't offended, because it is obvious that Harry would find shame in this  
experience.

"All better." Louis nearly croaks when he puts the lotion away and looks at Harry's face again.  
Harry's whole visage is blocked by the blackness of this night and Louis can't see him beyond his pale limbs.  
He pulls the covers over himself up to his ears and waits for a response.   
"Thank you, haud mirum." Harry cranes his neck to a lower degree and kisses Louis' forehead gently. "This is a  
new bed and I know you are scared."

Louis tries to hide the fact that he shifts a little closer to Harry's side, agreeing without words to how strange  
he's made to feel by this fresh environment. The woods has never been the place for him and now they're all  
alone in it.  
"This forest is safe, haud mirum." Harry notices the rustle of his sheets over Louis' delicate form and he  
notices it riding up at his back.

Carefully he leans over Louis to reconceal the column of skin that's been exposed. He doesn't know what to do  
after he's returned to his original position on his back. After years of imagining it, Harry always thought him  
meeting his mate would play out differently.

"Harry?" Louis is inches away from the planes of muscled skin that rest as part of Harry's abdomen.  
Harry's response is a weak grunt, the lift and drop of his chest signalling the sudden inhale.  
"Nevermind." The sound frightens Louis, thinking he disturbed the Dominus in some way. "Goodnight."  
He's rolled over onto his other side by the time he feels Harry prop himself up to enquire further on what he  
wanted. Squeezing his eyes shut, he prays that Harry does ask but ten minutes later there is still no sign of the  
question and Louis falls asleep.

The night falls over them kindly, concealing them both its shadows and mild temptation of a dreaming world.  
Louis only gets to revel in this fantasy of deep green eyes that light up like Christmas whenever they see his  
crystal blue ones, for a few hours before he's shaken awake.

It's not a conscious Harry either when he turns around to see what's wrong. Through fuzzy vision that slowly  
clears up, Louis' eyesight adjusts to the darkness in time to see that Harry's body is jolting and tossing itself  
around. His first reaction is to scramble out of harm's way but the Dominus looks to be in pain whilst sleeping  
and Louis can't let whatever horror he's witnessing in his nightmare continue.

Harry's words are muffled and muted by his face buried in his pillow. Louis holds onto his right arm as he  
shuffles closer carefully and swipes the sheen of sweat off Harry's forehead as he situates himself under that  
arm. It immediately clamps down on his lower back, causing a hiss to part from his lips when Harry's strength  
nearly crushes him.

"Shh." Louis runs his hand up and down Harry's back, feeling the dampness and ripple of flesh beneath his  
fingers everytime the man jerks in some odd way with a tense frown. He whispers in Harry's ear. "It's only a  
nightmare, my love. You're here with me and nowhere else. None of this is real. I'm real. Come back to me."  
It doesn't work for the time it takes Harry's subconscious to soak in those loving words, then the terror of his  
imagination and memory slowly fade away to dream of Louis and him. Harry is completely calm after he's  
overcome the nightmare and remains asleep, holding onto Louis like his lifeline in a way that's sure to cause  
bruises.

Louis let's him. He knows now that he will always let Harry use him to calm whatever horrors he needed to.  
Their position is strange for Harry is almost completely covering him, but Louis sighs contentedly and accepts  
it when Harry's prickly stubble finds a home in his neck.


	3. chapter three

Louis sleeps peacefully with half a space-heater draped over his left half. He wakes up when the warmth  
disappears and Harry's body has left faint traces of sweat dampness on his own skin. It's as if he could only be  
settled with Harry's weight resting on him, and is now disturbed by a shift in that tranquillity.

The singing of the birds outside in the highest treetops surround their little haven. Torn and fallen leaves  
crack under the heavy footing of hooves or baby animal paws. Wind blew in a northerly direction and kept the  
breeze light, the sun still waking up the new day is broke through the horizon.

He felt Harry withdraw with a drag to his motion almost as if he was hesitant to do it at all. Before his eyelids  
lifted to look upon the fine hairs on him arms where they were tucked in under his pillow, Louis heard himself  
gasp ever so mutely when Harry placed a tender kiss on his shoulder.

The act of Harry actually gathering the covers around the boy to tuck him in physically, had Louis forcing  
himself away from the comfort to get up. Harry's hand was on his waist and he really didn't want that to  
change when he sat up and yawned, partially concealed by the dull conditions of such an early hour.

Harry was looking at him with a soft smile that reached his eyes and made them glisten. His hair was ruffled  
up with all his movements from the night and he looked utterly harmless with his sleepy contours. Louis  
cracked the knuckles in his fingers and met Harry's eye, slightly concerned.

"Are you okay?" He remembers his Dominus being so disturbed by his nightmare that he would be an unkind  
mate to not ask how he's feeling.

"What do you mean, haud mirum?" Harry frowned briefly and took Louis' hand in his, just one, to rub his  
thumb over the knuckles and wish he could each one.

Did Harry not remember? "You had a bad dream last night. You were moving around so much. Whatever it was  
must have been really awful."

Harry's eyes are clouded when they meet Louis', a continual string of emotions entering and leaving them. He  
drops his head and presses his lips to Louis' wrist, saying nothing as he turns around to pick up the wooden  
prosthetic piece from against his nightstand.

Louis' hope dies when he observes this reaction from the Dominus, and sighs just before pulling away as his  
hand falls to the sheets. He slides off the bed and leaves the room before he can mutter something harsh,  
feeling hurt by Harry not wanting to even talk to him about not wanting to speak of this nightmare.

Harry noticed the change in their atmosphere and his eyes followed Louis out the door, self-hatred bubbling  
beneath the surface of his skin as he pulled on his hair and groaned.

In the kitchen, Louis took stock mentally of everything he had. The basic essentials such as milk, eggs and rice  
were present. There seemed to be bulk groceries packed into the pantry, from bottled water to canned foods.  
Louis pouts at everything in boxes and that which are non-perishable. With hardly a fresh thing in sight, he  
pities the Dominus who hasn't had a decent meal in who knows how long.

For now, he pours himself a glass of water to wake up and puts the gas stove on to prepare a good enough  
breakfast. Scrambled eggs sizzle on the frying pan and Louis makes a note to buy butter the next time they're  
in town. He pops the last two slices of bread into a separate pan with cheese and stands on his tiptoes to get  
the sugar from a high shelf. 

A hand circles his hip at that moment when he's just about close enough to grabbing the jar, and he  
immediately falls back onto his feet when Harry's fingers slip under his shirt. It wasn't intentional by the way  
Harry merely gets the jar for him and steps away without saying anything.

Louis kept his gaze low as he set water to boil on the stove and got out the tallest mug he could find. Harry's  
presence both soothed and suffocated him because the Dominus felt unpredictable, mercurial. There was no  
choice of tea or coffee, just a special type of tea leaf that he remembers his father having at home.  
Thankfully he remembers how to make it and starts to do that carefully, bringing a plate to the narrow counter  
to serve Harry's food.

"Haud mirum, I-" Harry starts to say and swallows his words with a grimace at himself. "I am very fond of you  
and you walking out on me has made me regret.....ignoring you."  
Louis looks up with wide and attentive eyes but he can't let Harry say this, can't have him loathe himself for  
something so trivial. "It doesn't matter, Harry. I never should have asked."  
"No. No, haud mirum." Harry comes around the side of the counter again and takes the jar from Louis' hand,  
placing it on the counter so that he is free to hold the boy. "You are free to ask anything you like. It's just you  
and I up here. We must be comfortable with one another."

Taking comfort in Harry's embrace, Louis allows himself to be held and curls his fingers into the front of  
Harry's shirt to reciprocate. He feels so lost at peace and safety when Harry holds him, tight against his chest  
to make the boy feel inexplicably secure from any and all dangers in the world.  
Louis notices that Harry smells fresh of musk from his shower and that a little bit more of his stubble has  
come in. He shamelessly nuzzles the side of Harry's neck and the Dominus growls protectively as he locks  
arms around him.

"It's okay." Louis speaks, angelic and soft like the finest deity that Harry isn't worthy of.  
"Let me go out and train today." Harry let's go reluctantly of Louis' form so that he may go back to his previous  
occupation. "When I return, I will tell you about my nightmares."  
Louis nearly drops his spoon from where he's tasting the sweetness of Harry's tea concoction. "You don't have  
to, my love."

The endearment makes Harry smile. "I've had no one to share anything with for most of my life. You cannot  
take this away from me."  
With a smug little smile playing on his lips, Louis hands the Dominus his tea and slides to him his plate of  
food. It is difficult to miss the look of awe and surprise on Harry's face when he picks up his fork.  
"What is it?" Louis bites his upper lip and asks, worried that maybe he served too little or his food was merely  
distasteful.

Harry's admirable smirk full of dimples and a peek at his canines say differently. "I have never seen a plate of  
food so full before my day began."  
Louis tries not to let that sink in, pulling his heart down with him. "Well, now you always will."  
"Come sit with me."   
There's only one chair.

Louis fights the sprint in his pulse and lump in his throat as he obeys because he's been asked something  
directly. He wishes he had longer sleeves to hide his arms and didn't look so dishevelled with a head of unruly  
hair and bitten lips.

"Wh-Where?" He asks, tripping over his nerves as they light themselves up.  
Harry holds out his hand, only now allowing Louis to notice that he's wearing all black once again. He's only  
worn black since the boy met him. His T-shirt clung to his abdomen and his jeans were ripped at the knees,  
boots heavy and old.

Taking the offering, Louis let's his hand slide into Harry's and sucks in a sharp breath that whistles through his  
teeth when he's hauled off the ground. His tiny noise of protest is drowned out by himself when he's placed on  
Harry's lap, two hands leaving his hips. One arm circles his waist and the other is free to manoeuvre his food.  
"Are you comfortable?" Harry's lips are on his temple.  
Louis unknowingly preens and his eyes fall closed. He is warm and comfy where Harry put him, slotted against  
the ridges and planes of firm torso. He never wants to leave.  
"You have a beautiful voice." Harry's thumb rubs back and forth over Louis' hip-bone like he's been doing it for  
centuries, having found the perfect spot to adorn with gentle caresses. "I heard you last night speaking to me  
in my sleep."

Astounded, Louis hides his blushing face behind his hands and curls his body up as much as he can without  
falling to the ground. "Y-You heard me?"  
"Yes." Harry scrapes his plate with his fork, taking bites in between his hushed conversation with Louis. "It felt  
like a dream because no mortal could possibly be as beautiful and warm as you are, yet I got to wake up  
beside you this morning."

Louis is agape and lost for words as he rests his cheek on Harry's shoulder, the tip of his nose grazing the  
faint touch of incoming facial hair. "Stop it."  
"I will stop." Harry sets his cutlery down and holds Louis like an infant. One arm circled his shoulders and the  
other held onto his legs, hoisting the boy higher and closer to him. Their faces were an inch apart. "I will stop  
when there is no breath left in my body."

How can someone ever repay a man for being this honest, this passionate with his words? Louis is weak with  
his vocabulary and can only wrap his arms around Harry's neck to remove all boundaries of space between  
them, letting every ounce of affection he has for this man soak into him.  
"I'd like a favour, haud mirum." Harry's dexterous fingers are working out some lifeless knots at the base of  
Louis' spine.

"Anything." Louis gushes, then his cheeks flame up from how eager he sounded.  
Harry's chuckle is a raspy melody present in Louis' ear, stuck on a loop in his mind. "Do you sing, haud mirum.  
I will say with certainty that someone with a speaking voice like yours must have the sweetest singing."   
Louis wants to stay a part of this man forever, held by him and treasured this much forever. "I used to sing to  
my little sister."

Their half an hour of breakfast is spent in a way that Louis could never have predicted, and Harry never  
imagined he'd appreciate. The Dominus sat on the old, upholstered chair and secured Louis on his lap so that  
the boy could sing in his ear. His voice made the sun less harsh and the food more divine. Every gasp of air  
was more savoury and Harry was drunk off his innocence by the end of one verse.  
Louis' thin and cool fingertips danced across the dips of Harry's clavicle, tracing the outlines of bone  
protruding through skin. He sang an old tune from generations ago that his grandmama taught him, after her  
mother taught it to her.

It narrated the story of a dancer who danced just for the King of an ancient, faraway land. One day the ruler  
allowed his son to watch her and the prince fell in love. The chorus was scratchy and Louis' voice was so  
delicate that it did their tale justice by how he lowered it enough, keeping their union a secret even in this day.  
The song ends long after Harry is supposed to be out the door, neither possessing enough courage to end it.  
Louis is lifted when Harry stands and looks over the man's shoulder at how far off the ground he is.  
"Harry, don't-" He begins to fuss when he notices the Dominus carrying him over to the only couch in the tiny  
living room.

Ignoring him, Harry lowers Louis onto the sofa and insists that he must not get up. "Handle the kitchen later.  
Sleep now, haud mirum."  
Louis' pout is a trigger in Harry's heart. "I am not tired."  
Harry indulges him with a fond smile and by sitting on the edge of the structure, sinking the cushion further.  
He drapes the thin quilt over Louis' body and conceals his form right up to his ears, to both their amusement.  
"Says this." Harry kisses the tip of Louis' nose where it rested scrunched up so the boy could swallow his yawn.  
"Rest, haud mirum."

"Why do you call me that?" Louis tips his head back when Harry withdraws for a breath, snapping their close  
proximity shut.

"It means you are my little wonder." Harry's eyes sparkle like the most glorious stars in the skies above,  
humouring Louis with another kiss on his forehead. "You struck me as one the minute I saw you."  
Louis reveals himself from behind the quilt and gently pecks Harry's cheek before pulling it back up. Harry's  
smirk widens and his dimples become more prominent, lethally charming as he crooks his index finger over  
the corner of the quilt.

"I will not leave without my kiss, haud mirum, now that you are here to give it to me." Harry says as he leans in  
with a faint smile that teases his lips and the uneasy self-restraint evident in his concentration. He's holding  
himself back.

Louis pushes himself up to connect their lips and relaxes into the touch of his Dominus over him. It feels like  
having a taste of Harry the first time, a whiff of him in Louis' senses. He's the ideal drug and Louis has him all  
to himself. When Harry repeats his act of advancement again, the tip of his tongue passing the barrier of his  
lips to tease the roof of his mouth, Louis tangles his fingers into those curly locks hastily drawn back in a bun.   
A Dominus is meant to marry or mate the person they chose as soon as possible, mark the one they love so  
the never have to suffer a loss. Harry is stopping himself because he won't force Louis just yet. He wants the  
moment they become one of two souls knitted together to be perfect, just like the boy he loves.  
They separate with hesitancy in both parties. Louis is panting without air and Harry licks his lips thrice to  
reimburse the taste in his mouth. "Do you know the strength I have, haud mirum?"  
Harry's question throws Louis off base. He struggles to get any one thing to focus in his mind made of mush.  
"I-I don't understand."

With no regard for wasted time, Harry sits upright and takes Louis with him. Their faces were kept in  
impossibly close proximity, breaths mingling and goosebumps brushing. Harry's eyes were ablaze and they  
burned right through Louis'.

"Do you know the strength a wolf has, haud mirum? How much we must tame and learn to control?" Harry's  
hands drop to his consort's lap and glide over the creases of his shirt to hold onto his sides, fervent in his  
appeal and desperation. "Yet with you I have no willpower, no ability to hold myself back."  
Harry's feverish actions made Louis want to soothe him, reassure him. "It is fine, my love. I'm sorry I cause you  
this pain."

"No." Harry becomes a different person, an impulsive creature more like as he touches parts of Louis his sober  
self would not. He hugs his lower waist and explores the skin of his thigh. The storm in the green of his eyes  
steal Louis' words. "I love everything you make me feel. I could breakyou, my Louis, but I'd rather lose my  
other leg than let that happen."

Louis reaches forward and cups both Harry's cheeks, watching the wolf surface and retire from exhaustion  
with a whine all in one scorching act. He presses his lips to Harry's forehead and kisses the frown away,  
creases of skin only easing because of his touch.

A Dominus is a possessive animal. They were weak-willed and ruled by primal instincts at most instances, but  
there was no other creature more loving than them. The strength Harry spoke of was not a myth. A wolf's  
strength is both an abomination and a miracle. Harry could tear this house down in a breath without a thought  
of regret.

"I am yours, my love." Louis tells him what he wants to hear, feeling the aftermath of the strings attached to  
his heart tugging relentlessly. "I will only ever be yours."  
* * * * *  
Louis has never known boredom this way.  
He wakes from his nap that Harry left him to conduct, blinking awake to some time that must be late morning.  
There is no device to tell the time so he doesn't waste time finding one. His first act of independence is to fold  
the quilt and set it at the foot of the couch again, padding energetically to the door that he yanks open. He  
gets smacked in the face by fresh, earthy air and grins because of it.

Leaving the front door gaping wide, he has his shower with cool water and dresses in his own clothes. He  
hummed and unpacked his boxes for a while that took him into midday, making space for his clothes amongst  
Harry's and his small belongings alongside the previous ones. Without meaning to, Louis notes that all of  
Harry's clothes are black. Shirts, shoes, jeans, socks and even his undergarments. 

Abandoning any judgment towards his Dominus' sense in fashion, he makes the bed and slips on some  
trainers to venture outside. The woods welcome him with a fine breeze and scent of nature in its purest form.  
He goes into the small area fenced for the horses' protection and sits up on a wooden post, watching them  
graze for entertainment.

A twig snaps behind his back and he quickly rotates to see what it was. The tree trunks were slim and tall,  
hardly wavering in the wind. However the pine needles at the base are full of green leaves that do nothing to  
hide the shape lurking behind them.

Out of the shadows comes a wolf of monstrous height. The pair of sparkling eyes that aided it in darkness  
turned into the most familiar set Louis' had the pleasure of knowing. Louis has never seen Harry in his wolf  
form and he regrets now that he's never taken in the majestic outline of such a almighty animal.  
The wolf was all black and stood as tall as Louis did up on the post he was perched on. It stalked forward with  
something hanging from between its jaws and Louis identified the carcass as a doe, his jaw falling slack at the  
significance of such a deed. He looks up from the dead wildlife at his feet and finds the wolf terribly close to  
his face, its muzzle nearly nudging his shoulder with bloody teeth.

"Hi, Harry." Louis found it amusing that he could say a greeting and not have it returned. He waited before  
continuing, studying the wolf's eyes for a reaction. "Thank you."  
Harry's wolf raised its head, unmistakably proud. Louis giggles and extends his arm, wanting a feel of the  
softest fur on the scariest beast. He runs his fingers through the threads of fibre, attractive in its deep colour  
that makes Harry a shadow and a king.

"You have to go now." Louis recites sadly, passing his fingertips over Harry's jaw. "Don't forget about me."  
Even as a wolf, Harry's able to make a noise akin to a scoff and lightly bump Louis' side before taking off into  
the innards of the forest.  
With silence engulfing him again, Louis looks down at the lifeless doe and speaks to the horses. "Do you know  
how to cut a doe?"  
It takes him a long while to master the art of almost skinning a doe so he can cook it. He would not have  
thought that his life will become this primitive but he'll be lying if he said it didn't give him a sense of  
responsibility and liberation.

He was free of a life where everyone did the same thing. Sure, many of the girls he stayed with in that cottage  
two nights ago went on to live extravagant lives with pearls and yachts, but on his first day he is enjoying the  
overdose of a busy day in a wonderful place.  
At a point where the sun is glaring and making his skin sticky, Louis goes inside to find himself something to  
eat. There isn't much to work with and he whips together a quick snack of half a can of beans with an egg to  
survive.

The day starts coming to an end after he's come indoors with enough meat for a decent dinner meal. He shuts  
the door this time and kicks off his shoes right beside it, travelling to the kitchen with his dish and washing  
off his hands before preparing to cook.

Louis turns the gas stove on again and sets a frying pan on with oil to heat up. He can guess through a peek  
out the window that it's nowhere near ten o'clock and he has enough time to do a bit extra. Getting out the  
ingredients to make bread, he puts them on the counter and goes back for potatoes. There's a sack of it with  
four left so he decides to use all, guessing that he'll beg Harry to take him to the city tomorrow.   
He leaves the venison cubes to sizzle in the pan and monitors it from his station of making bread, kneading  
the dough with the ball of his palm. It gets rolled out and shaped into a knotted, elongated bun of sorts. After  
popping it into the oven, he dumps the dishes in the sink and returns to the meat to turn it over.  
Deciding when they're cooked enough, he leaves the pan on a cold stove and peels the potatoes to dice them.  
He creates a salted mash with it and does multiple taste tests to confirm that it tastes good enough.  
Remembering the half can of beans he used earlier makes him fetch the remainder and put it over a flame as  
well, letting it cook through.

The deer meat goes back onto the heated portion when he hears the door rattle and realises the amount of  
time he spent cooking was quite a bit.  
He feels something flutter like delicate wings in his gut when he counts the steps Harry would take to find him  
in the kitchen. At the fourth there's a pause and he draws in an unstable breath whilst stirring mindlessly at  
the bean pot.

Furtherly, he counts three more steps of Harry's large strides and shakily exhales when he knows the Dominus  
is right behind him. He turns his head to the side but not entirely and he can see it, Harry's black clad hand  
bravely reaching forth and touch him.  
It feels like the tension in a balloon gives way when Harry's palm reaches ground on his hip, fingers flexing  
over the bone as he cups it. One more step the man takes and he is pressed flush against Louis' back, able to  
hear how he swallows nervously and his eyelids seal over his eyes when Harry kisses his neck.  
"You will never have to worry about me forgetting you, haud mirum."

Louis feels charges electrified on the surface of his skin by these words brushing over them, giving them  
power. He leans back as much as he can into Harry's protection and cranes his neck to plant a kiss on the  
stubble of the Dominus.

It feels prickly on his soft lips and he knows Harry takes it as the request he intended it to be. In a fleeting  
moment he feels Harry's lips on his and they're greeting each other in a way that reacquaints their bodies as  
well. Harry feels anchored when he's in physical contact with this boy.  
"My home has never smelt this appetising before." Harry's palm has found a path to Louis' tummy and is  
petting that part of him with small strokes.

"It's nothing special." Louis professes modestly, turning the stove off and freeing the various pots of the open  
flame. "Are you hungry?"  
"Ravenous." Harry responds, and the glint in his eye that conceals itself hastily has Louis trying to duck out of  
his hold.

Taking Harry's hand in his, Louis leads him to the couch in their tiny living room. "Sit."  
Harry is smug about Louis' authority but does as told anyway, figuring that he is to be a leader anywhere  
except a place that contain this petite wonder. Expectantly he looks up at Louis until the boy rushes back to  
the kitchen and serves food into two plates, the portions in one outweighing the other. He returns to Harry  
with them and two bottles of water that he sets on the floor because of the absence of a coffee table.  
He sits only after he's brought the bread from the oven and leaves it to rest between them on a cold plate so it  
causes no damage to the couch. 

Their silence is awkward and even so, they'd both rather not be anywhere else. Lovers behaved differently  
around one another but they were hardly lovers yet and with a tender bond developing so slowly between  
them there was no need to jeopardise what they had.

"No." Harry's dominant objection makes Louis pause in his aim to touch his food.  
He stares down at his lap without any of the relaxation he had prior to this, and fears everything that could  
have gone wrong with anything he did today. His mind is racing with a million different wild cards and faults,  
until Harry slices through it with a calm request.  
"Sit with me." Harry says.

Louis lifts his head with his slightly hunched shoulders, confusion showing with his frown. "I-I am, my love."  
Harry turns his head from left to right, signalling a negative response. Now Louis was thoroughly off-put. His  
Dominus refrains from saying anything more and they stare at each other up until Louis has the enlightenment  
dawn on him.

"O-Oh." He feels heat crawl up his neck. "If you want."  
He stands up again and watches Harry hold his plate out of harm's way when he makes his way closer. Louis  
raises one knee and it digs into the couch cushion, before nearing the other one to it and he falls astride  
Harry's hips in one fluid move. He's almost proud of himself because nothing was spilt.  
"You belong here." Harry speaks again when he gets to see Louis' crystalline marbles from beneath his  
feathery fringe.

"In-In your lap?" Those very crystals grow a little wide in surprise.  
"I suppose." Harry chuckles and picks up his fork. "Rather, I meant you belong in my home."  
Louis' ducking his face when he smiles and couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly that this sanctuary up on a  
hill is meant just for them.  
They eat in silence and share the bread roll, ending in its entirety being savoured by their taste buds. Louis  
can't praise himself because his own cooking tastes regular on his tongue but to a man who was isolated from  
civilisation, every morsel of food tasted like divinity.  
Louis takes some dishes to the kitchen and doesn't expect to spin around at the sink only to find Harry  
bearing the burden of the others. He smiles and takes them from the Dominus, leaving them in the sink and  
starting the cleaning process.

In what felt like definitely less than an hour they were done and back in their spot on the couch, resuming the  
positions they had before leaving. Louis need not ask permission before taking the band that held Harry's bun  
together and pulling it off, letting the lengthy curls tumble freely to frame his face.  
"I like your hair." Louis compliments, twirling one of the locks around his finger.  
"I admire yours." Harry returns, his reward for the appraisal being Louis' quiet giggle.   
"Can I say something?" Louis sits back on his haunches and Harry's thighs, staring into green pits as he  
warned the Dominus of what he might say.  
"Yes."

"You don't get much sleep." He takes a breath. "I don't think I like it very much."  
Aside from their breathing and the rhythm of the night outside, Harry laughs openly for the first time since  
Louis' met him. "There is no choice,haud mirum. We as Dominus are programmed to function on minimal  
sleep."  
"But-" Louis shakes his head and places it on Harry's chest, memorizing the thrum of his heartbeat. "Which  
days do you not train?"  
"I can take leave from training on Sunday because of you." Harry's arms wind their way around Louis' slouched  
form. "Having a mate entitles a training wolf to Sunday free."  
His fingers are drumming out the lub-dub rhythm of Harry's pulse without being aware of it. "What if you have  
a family?"

The question and notion of having a family before ending his training makes Harry chuckle. "Impossible, haud  
mirum.. I will only able to reproduce after I pass as a fit Dominus."  
Louis raises his head, curious. "What does that mean?"  
Harry starts to get up and takes Louis with him, carrying him with careful stepping in his arms. "It means what  
it does, haud mirum.. Now since you object to my sleeping hours, why don't we get a head start?"  
It sure sounds like Harry is avoiding the task of answering Louis' question but all is forgiven and forgotten  
when they find themselves in the sanctity of their bedroom again. Louis is put back on his own two feet and  
Harry's hand is not so discreet as it lingers over the curve of his spine for a bit longer.

"You should shower first." Louis voices what mindless thought he had, looking Harry in the eye as he says it.  
Harry raises his eyebrow as if questioning what this boy meant by that.  
Louis catches on and hurries to save himself. "I-I- Just because you should get to bed earlier."  
Hoping it doesn't sound insane to an outside ear, Louis nibbles on the dry skin of his lower lip and looks away  
guiltily. Harry does not go so far as to say anything more because today has been quite an experience for  
them both and he'd like to fall asleep soon to dream of further possibilities. His hands grip Louis' shoulders  
and he leans down close to the boy for a sweet kiss on his forehead.  
"Goodnight, haud mirum." The Dominus whispers, gravely voice feeling like smooth honey and cascading silk  
down the heated skin of Louis' back.

"G'night." He can only muster up as a sufficient response.  
While Harry is in the bathroom, Louis spends many minutes picking his attire for sleeping. It will also serve as  
his clothing for the day tomorrow as he does not plan to change just to be alone. The hamper in the bathroom  
is fairly full and he guesses a load is necessary to be done tomorrow as well.   
Louis manages to duck from sight when his Dominus steps out of the bathroom and stealthily slip through the  
open door for his turn. He pulls open the frosted shower door and lays his folded sleepwear on the counter by  
the basin before stripping down in the steam created by Harry's shower.

Once safely under the mainstream spray of the hot shower, Louis picks up the body gel he brought from home  
that's running from medium to low and squirts some into his coarse sponge. Regular sponges were not made  
to remove the grime of the day as he preferred.  
After satisfying his subconscious with the job of shampooing and conditioning, Louis rinses himself off from  
head to toe one last time and exits. The steam from his shower carried the scent of cherries and vanilla, whilst  
Harry's was mainly musk or something herbal.

He smiles to himself with a burst of silent laughter when he sees space for two towels now laid out beneath  
the counter, one already having been used and thrown into the hamper. He happens to notice yet another  
change in the cup meant to hold toothbrushes.

Louis clearly remembers putting his own into the cup earlier today when he was unloading the luggage he  
came with, yet there is just Harry's left here. He dismisses the concern for a short moment as he dries off and  
dresses in his pyjamas, constantly running his fingers through his damp hair to dry it quicker.  
Back at the search for his toothbrush, Louis finds himself crouching and looking around on the floor. A bright  
blue catches his eye and his vision snaps towards it, stunned speechless to find his toothbrush with that  
vibrant shade in the small woven bin.

He's no longer deeply offended when he remembers Harry deduced that he'd used his toothbrush last night. Is  
intention is obvious here, that he wants Louis to use it again and not his own. The thought behind such a deed  
makes Louis' cheeks redden and he succumbs to the talons of temptation. He smears Harry's minty toothpaste  
onto the bristles and brushes his teeth in his usual time.

The hum of adrenaline from his possibly scandalous act wears off when he enters the bedroom again and  
notices the slick frustration lingering above his head. Frowning, he turns to Harry and pauses when the  
Dominus seems to be struggling with something. He's clearly trying to fall asleep with his irritated little huffs  
and continual punches aimed at flattening his pillow.  
"Harry?" He approaches the man, one foot at a time. When Harry's eyes open and laser focus on him with a  
steady grimace, Louis stops. "What's wrong?"  
Whatever it is that previously bothered Harry dies down into a soft group of creases above the bridge of his  
nose. "Nothing, haud mirum."

"Are you sure?" Louis takes a brave step forward and swiftly assesses the state of his partner, feeling his gut  
twist at the flushed tint of his skin and the sweat already developing on his chest.  
He turns around for a trip back into the bathroom and ignores Harry's word of argument as it floats into the  
room with him. Louis grabs two Paracetamol pills and two painkillers, knowing that a Dominus can burn  
through them in seconds. He fills a glass with water and goes back into the bedroom, switching Harry's  
bedside lamp on.

"Have this." He muffles his yawn and disguises the tired shuffling of his feet, handing over the medication and  
tumbler to Harry.   
The man's skin up to his extremely lower abdomen is visible as the sheets are hastily kicked off him. His  
nether regions and one disabled leg are concealed by the dark covers but his other pale limb is exposed  
against it. Louis tries very hard to not stare at the toned and sculptured physique of his dominant.  
Harry swallows the tablets and drinks the entire glass of water, handing it back to Louis who is suspiciously  
swaying in his footing. Louis refills the glass and wets a clean medium-sized towel with cold water, squeezing  
out the excess moisture and going back to bed one last time.

"What's this?" Harry asks him about the white cloth in his hand as Louis switches off the light and adjusts to  
the darkness.  
"I'm here to take care of you." Louis doesn't have to ask for Harry to budge over, as it seems the Dominus can  
look at him and know everything that he's thinking. "I intend to do a thorough job."  
There is the light of amusement in Harry's sparkling eyes as he moves over and allows Louis some space on  
his side of the bed. Although they should be reserved about how much bare skin contact there is between  
them, Louis figures there must be an exception in this situation.

Louis sits with a low slouch and uses Harry's pillows to prop himself up, the Dominus making little room  
before lying back with his head against Louis' tummy. The boy's skin is soft and barely touching him but Harry  
feels high off it, flying with the clouds because of it. Louis crosses one leg with his foot beneath the other  
thigh, that leg resting snugly against Harry's side.  
His shorts were hardly recognised by either of them until Louis picked up on it and his embarrassment  
escalated. Harry was fine with it, his fingers playing to a silent melody as they circled Louis' bare knee and his  
eyes close as if nothing could disturb his contentment.  
Louis folded the cold cloth and placed it on Harry's forehead, not missing how the Dominus leaned up into his  
touch. "You should feel better soon."

"I already feel no pain, haud mirum." Harry leaves a kiss on Louis' shin by turning his head slightly.  
The skin afterwards where his lips had touched lights up. "You are not allowed to lie to me, my love."  
Harry's laughter is husky and hardly something musical, with a low octave and rough voice. Louis loves the  
sound. "Tell me about your day, Louis."

Louis clears his throat and folds the cloth over to expose more of the cooling sections. He has no job for his  
hands otherwise and starts to comb through Harry's hair, straightening it out with his fingers raking through  
them.

"I didn't do much besides sit outside with the horses and start cooking towards the latter part of the  
afternoon." He says.  
Harry is pleased with the actions and starts to let out soft groans or actively nudge Louis' hand when he  
stopped. "Were you discontent?"  
"No." Louis races to answer. "I like it out here very much."  
"Then what are your plans for tomorrow, haud mirum?" The Dominus asks, drawing circles on Louis' hairless  
calf with his thumb. 

"Laundry, I suppose." Louis deems Harry's hair unknotted and moves his hands lower to the man's shoulders,  
conducting a weak massage to remove the abundance of knots he can feel. "I want to start a vegetable  
garden."  
Harry groans and Louis doesn't predict it was supposed to come out with such a high volume. He blushes  
bright red at knowing he caused those pleasured sounds, even if they were from a more innocent perspective.  
"Do you?"  
"Y-Yes." He bites his tongue after stammering, working his fingertips over the firmness around Harry's neck.  
"Would you mind if I did?"

"Of course not, haud mirum. This home is yours." Harry considers something before speaking again.  
"Tomorrow is Sunday. I will take you get everything you need from town."  
Louis beams, bright as the sun, and bends down to kiss Harry's cheek in a quick peck. "Thank you. Thank you,  
my love."

Harry catches the back of his neck and holds him still, lips brushing with how close they are. "Give me another  
kiss of yours and I will spare the expense of going bankrupt tomorrow."  
Louis nearly chokes on air with how honest Harry's words are, the lit fire behind them intensifying the man's  
earnest appeal. "I will kiss you for an eternity, my love. I expect nothing but your lips in return."

* * * * *

They fell asleep that way, with Harry tucked into the cradle of Louis' curled up body. The Dominus awoke at  
his regular hour and discovered himself using Louis' front as a comfort for his head, the softness and scent  
being something he could never replace by a synthetic pillow.

He watches Louis, his sweet boy, sleeping with his head turned towards the window and his chest slowly  
creating the rhythm of his breathing. Harry doesn't let anyone know except the morning dew and whistling of  
the woodland creatures, when he kisses Louis' lips in a delicate grace. He settles back down on his front, not  
between Louis' legs but rather on his side and snaking around him like a vine.  
Louis heard the fighting of the trees outside and woke up to their faint blowing in the wind, blinking lazily as  
he touched the weight over him. He gasped and retracted his hand when that weight had a pulse, a beating  
heart. Harry lay on top of him in a sleep so deep he was dead to the world except for the rise and fall of his  
chest.

He was no longer tired and Louis stayed up as the sun rose late in the morning, his fingers brushing back and  
forth over Harry's scapullas. Through yawns and small stretching, Louis cracked the knuckles in his body  
without disturbing Harry and curled his arms over the man's shoulders. Harry's face was turned to the side,  
smashed into Louis' front with his lips parted and pouted. He looked so harmless, so peaceful in his sleep.  
Trying not to let his thoughts wander, Louis realised that escaping from under Harry would be a task  
irretrievable. He didn't mind though, and sheepishly smiled to himself before settling back into his nest of  
pillows for a few more hours of sleeping.

Harry had the day free and that's what seemed to wake them both up at a later hour when the son was  
completely enveloping their room in sunlight to emphasise the time. The Dominus rose from his position first  
and left a chaste kiss for Louis' skin to remember him by as he sat up.   
Although he felt simply adored by the kiss, Louis couldn't spend all day wrapped up in it. He yawned away the  
sleepiness and pulled himself upright, drawing his legs closer to his chest from where they were behind  
Harry's back. The man sat at the edge of the bed, unmoving, and seemed to contemplating things with his  
arms straining against the springs.

Louis felt the silence would kill him and with a sudden burst of energy, leaned forward to kiss Harry's cheek.  
"Good morning."

When he withdrew Harry smirked and glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. He seemed to chew on  
something when nothing was in his mouth, and grabbed the prosthetic limb off its stand. "Good morning,  
haud mirum."

Nothing more was said for the entire duration of time it took for them to shower separately and appear  
downstairs for breakfast. Louis thanked any deity that would listen when he saw oatmeal in the pantry and  
prepared some on the stove, listening to Harry slide into the chair at the counter wordlessly.  
The Dominus who sat idle with his fingers laced together and bare feet on a rod attached to the counter,  
cleared his throat. "Do you have a list?"

He didn't know how Louis fondly rolled his eyes and worked harder than he ever had in his life to suppress a  
smile. Their awkwardness was something he never thought he'd desire. "What kind of list?"  
Louis fills up a bowl with steaming oatmeal, letting the other remain at half full. He dribbles some honey over  
the porridge substance and tosses the bottle into the trash after committing the name to memory. Harry liked  
honey?

"The....-" Harry listens to himself lose his sentence when Louis comes around the counter to hand him his  
food. "Whatever it is you plan to buy today."  
Without being told, Louis opens Harry's arms and crawls onto his Dominus' lap. Harry couldn't be more  
pleased about the change in events and hesitantly places a hand on Louis' back to keep him still considering  
the boy had nothing to support his posture.  
"I have an idea of what to get." Louis jabs at his breakfast while it cools. "We need fresh fruit and more than  
canned beans."

Harry's already fed himself a spoonful of the best oatmeal he's tasted, and watches Louis in his lap talk on  
with a humoured smirk on his lips. He's stuck on the use of 'we' like a lovestruck fool.  
"I'd like to get seeds for the garden." Louis finally eats, Harry monitoring that he plans to finish all. "You don't  
suppose there's live chicken in these woods?"

The Dominus watching him stares at him in evident surprise, the green in his eyes that match the environment  
of the trees outside becoming more so. "No, haud mirum. I don't."

Louis puts Harry's empty bowl onto the counter, followed by his own. "Then we'll get chicken as well today."  
There's nothing to hold onto anymore and Louis' hands fall jobless onto his lap, Harry's arms choosing to cage  
the slim figure of his waist like it was his method of worship.  
"Harry?" Louis puffed up his cheeks and slotted himself beneath the man's chin.   
Harry's means of responding was a slight trail up and down his bare arm, grazing the smooth skin enough to  
tickle.

"I never asked and I should have but-" He tries not to make himself out to be self-doubting and unsure  
although he is. "-all these expenses....- Are they-"  
The Dominus had a fair guess at what Louis meant to say. "I know what you are asking, haud mirum. Yours  
and my expenses shall always be taken care of."

"I thought you said your family didn't....you know, support you financially."  
"They do not." Harry treated Louis' puzzled look with a brush to his slanted fringe and kissed his forehead  
over that scented, upset hair. "My brother and I made certain investments that would look after us during the  
time that we won't work."

Louis hums as he listens attentively, gnawing on his lip to punish himself for asking. How rude of him. "I'm  
sorry, my love. It was none of my business."  
Harry catches him by his chin, blazing emeralds set on hot coals burrowing their homes in the mellow  
peacefulness of Louis' sapphire crystals.

"You should apologise for saying that rather than asking, haud mirum. I will give you any answer you require,  
my world is at your feet. That was your business, my Louis. We are one now; one soul, one beating heart.  
There will be no secrets between us."


	4. chapter four

Designated duties were handed out between Harry and Louis the moment they stepped into the decently  
proportioned, well-stocked grocery store that rested an hour away from their home. At least, Louis was about  
to be quiet and just nab a trolley for himself but upon attempting to do so he discovered that Harry already  
retrieved one for them.

While Harry wished he could touch some part of Louis for the entire span of their shopping trip, he had to let  
the sight of said boy walking ahead of him suffice. Louis had the sweetest physique and it went so ideally  
against his own. The boy was petite and full of life, no more muscle than an average human. He had the  
daintiest wrists and ankles that Harry could circle with one hand. Louis' chest was narrow so that it fitted in a  
perfect slot between his broader shoulders, a smaller puzzle piece finding its home.

He could walk at any pace with the trolley because Louis seemed to function at his pace. Harry leaned forward  
with his elbows on the handle and strolled leisurely behind his mate, always assessing some tremendously  
intoxicating feature of his.

Louis handled fresh produce first, tying up bundles of herbs and heads of lettuce in clear plastic packets.  
Harry watched him like a hawk, always a foot away from him and blocking him from public sight because he's  
extra protective in public.

"What do you think?" Louis held up a bunch of green leaves, tiny ones that were crisp and pungent when Harry  
sniffed them.

"I don't remember this herb." The Dominus said as he frowned, discreetly setting his hand on Louis' lower  
back.

"Neither have I. It smells good though." Louis can feel the weight on his back and smiles to his self  
satisfaction, hiding it by ducking his head.

They get enough of what they need to last them a long while. Fresh foods are bound to go off so Louis doesn't  
buy an abundance. Harry has to pick up a pocket of potatoes from the ground when Louis asks for his help,  
the Dominus does not miss an opportunity to show off his physical strength. It doesn't do anything for Louis  
and Harry isn't surprised, more like settled in his initial conception.

When Louis is choosing the right pack of rosy red apples beside a woman picking out guavas, Harry scans all  
the bunches of bananas before putting it into the cart. Louis returns to his side after thirteen seconds of being  
away and still is his shyness evident, for he softly excuses himself before stepping past Harry to the trolley.

It offends Harry.

The Dominus' true internal nature flares up as he spins around on the heel of his boot, looking at Louis with  
squinted eyes. It's his instinct to be upset when his mate isn't immediately opening up to him, trained for this  
to be such. However his own self means more and Louis means the most. He will contend with agony and  
celibacy forever for this wonderful boy.

"Bananas?" Louis picks up the yellow selection of fruit and assesses them in Harry's panicked silence. "Okay."

They keep the bananas and in the dairy isle, Harry gets to stack multiple six packs of long life milk into their  
trolley. He wonders how Louis can do this without needing pen and paper, as he did everytime he had to  
handle his own pantry. Louis has a denim jacket on that's as little as him, covering half his face when the collar  
is flipped up as it is now.

After getting the butter and yogurt, Louis takes Harry's hand by sudden impulse and leads him into the bakery  
at the back. The Dominus declares himself to be weak, for he merely stares at where their hands are joined  
without breathing properly. It's as if Louis read his mind and knew that Harry wanted contact with him.

"Have you ever had these?" Louis is pressed to Harry's side, lighting the Dominus' skin on fire even over his  
heavy leather jacket.

Harry has to look down and when he does, he's met with the sight of Louis propelling a type of cheesy bun  
towards him. He recognises the smell and nods, still floored by how close they are in public whilst secretly  
being smug about it.  
"Are you okay?" Louis asks out of the blue, frowning worriedly up at his Dominus. His small, thin fingers flexed  
in Harry's closed fist.  
"Yes, haud mirum." Harry felt the need to elaborate when Louis' eyes didn't lift. "I am with you. How could I  
ever be unhappy with that?"

Louis blushes and looks away at last, done stealing the breath from Harry's lungs. When the man thinks so all  
he ends up surprised by is Louis rocking up on his tiptoes to press his sweet, soft lips to Harry's cheek.  
"I'm happy too." He whispers in Harry's ear, his cheeks tinted bright red as his feet hit the ground again.   
They're stuck in a queue of four people while they wait to be served at the bakery, so Harry gambles his luck.  
His cheek is a little moist from where Louis licked his lips before kissing him, and he wrapped both  
constricting arms around the boy without so much as an explanation.

Instead of protesting, Louis sighed contentedly and rested back against Harry's chest. He hesitated before  
throwing caution to the wind and placing his hands over Harry's interlocked ones, complete disregard for their  
trolley as they comforted each other.  
"Haud mirum?" Harry petted Louis' hip, poised in his mind to continuously feel the supple flesh every chance  
he got.

"My love?" Louis responded. As much as Harry using his one affectionate term on Louis got his heart to flutter,  
Harry was just as affected when Louis was cute with his petnames.  
Harry braced himself for humility, a trait he's never been required to have in his life. "I'd like to......-"  
Louis sensed his difficulty and turned around, all electric beauty and intelligence faced at the man now. He  
looked up at his Dominus in his untidy yet sophisticated bun and had himself stepping a bit closer, their  
chests gently colliding.

"You'd like to?" Louis prompted when Harry never finished his request.  
Large hands spanned the length of his waist, and Harry's independent pinky finger was nearing the middle of  
his hip. Harry nudged his boy's head to the side until it rested on his shoulder, the pale column of the throat  
that concealed his erratic pulse exposed to him.  
He licked his lips. "I'd like to kiss you here."

However amused Louis may be by this proposition, he is also aware of how dead serious his Dominus is  
regarding the matter. He can say yes and have the pleasure of Harry's kisses somewhere other than his lips, a  
place if not twice as sensitive.  
"You didn't ask before, my love." Louis muses, eyes full of mirth as he tilts his head back.  
Harry licks his lips after they move one space closer to the woman handing transactions. "I am asking now for  
your permission to do it whenever I need to."  
Humming, Louis stews over this offer. "At any time?"

"Yes." Harry slides the palms of his hands from Louis' hips to his front, thumbs rubbing cyclic shapes over the  
boy's tummy. "Do you honestly have an objection, haud mirum?"  
"Maybe." Louis tries not to shrug as it might knock Harry off his shoulder. He shivers slightly from a blast  
coming from the air-conditioner. "What if we have an argument?"  
There's an unpredictable scoff that escapes Harry. The Dominus quickly covers it up with a clearing of his  
throat but Louis' already giggling. "I see myself at your feet even if we do.....disagree."  
"Or in this case-" Louis takes two steps forward to be nearing the woman now, pouting when Harry covers that  
distance in one stride. "-at my neck."

It becomes Harry's turn to laugh, even though it may be a slight chuckle and unrelenting smirk that dimples  
his cheeks. "Do I have my yes, haud mirum?"   
"Well-" Louis risks a change in his attention from the queue to Harry. "-if you get a spot to kiss then I want  
one on you."  
Harry doesn't think about it and brings his right index finger up, tapping his lips with it once to answer Louis'  
bargain. Louis breaks out into the boldest laugh he's ever endured, still pink in his cheeks and making Harry's  
chest swell with pride knowing he caused it.

"You're not a big, bad and scary Dominus." Louis tells the man, convinced of it himself. He undoes and redoes the top button of Harry's silk shirt beneath his jacket, inappropriately snuggled up to the Dominus.  
"How could I be, haud mirum?" Harry's hands flattened on Louis' back, looking down at him bemused.  
"Exactly." Louis relaxes to the extent of nearly sleeping with Harry's heart pounding in his ear, the man's hand  
rubbing his back repeatedly on the other end.  
The prattling housewife ahead of them is almost done. Louis decides he's definitely okay with Harry's mouth  
on his neck, as well as finalising an arrangement for himself.

"I want to kiss you here." He dragged his fingertip, cold from the chill in the air, over the place on Harry's  
muscular chest where his most vital organ pumped blood to the rest of his body.  
Harry's blood seemed to simmer beneath the highest layer of his skin, thickening with the impact of Louis'  
words. His future mate, pure in person and whose soul is bound to be knotted with his, wants to lay a kiss  
over his heart whenever he feels like returning the affection from Harry kissing the bare skin of his most  
sensitive and exposed spot. Harry's going to lay his mark on that spot one day.  
"Yes." Harry hardly has air in his lungs after he exhales his urgent response with the breath. He grabs hold of  
Louis' hand, completely concealing everything below the last knuckle of his index and nips at the tip of the  
appendage. "Yes,haud mirum. You may."

Louis sounds so muted when he speaks next, there's an entire world around them that disintegrates to allow  
them privacy. He finds himself losing himself to the forestry of Harry's eyes, whilst in return the Dominus  
drowned in his.

"We have a deal then." Louis vows, sucking in a short breath when it's their turn to get baked goods.  
Harry starts to step forward but Louis takes a chance and plants a kiss over his pectoral now, leaving the skin  
warm and loved. There's no time for Harry to carry the boy off to somewhere secluded and return the favour  
so he remains stunned with a hand in Louis' so he isn't uncoordinated as well.

Louis smiles, sweet as sugar and as alluring as a pilgrim's temptation, at the woman serving customers and  
recites their order from memory. Harry isn't caught staring at the boy's neck by Louis himself, but every other  
shopper present in their raincoats and boots were eyeing him shiftily.

The bakery boxes are packed neatly into a front carrier section of the trolley and Louis briefly meets Harry's  
eye across the expanse of the cart. He looks away for he became suddenly shy and turned around to lead the  
Dominus onward. Harry had his stepping memorised by the time they reached the confectionery isle. He's got  
it noted forever how many creases form on Louis' mating spot when he cranes his neck or angles his head.  
Louis doesn't know if Harry likes candy as much as the man loves honey, so he offers up his finest options  
first. Harry frowns at peanut brittle, nougat bars and gummy worms. 

"Do you have a sweet tooth at all?" Louis is afraid to ask about regular chocolate bars, and uses one of the instore bulk specials to buy three for half the price.  
"Yes." Harry feels like that's the correct answer. He picks up one of Louis' wholenut dairy milk slabs and  
studies it.

"For?" Louis is browsing the other options, citrus sweets to liquorice.  
Harry walks around the trolley to find it himself, bringing his best choice down from the highest shelf whilst  
standing in close proximity to Louis' back. He hands it his favourite person and waits for judgment.  
Louis reads the label and discovers that it's a soft candy, caramel toffee. The brand is such an old, well-known  
company that only makes this particular sweet in humble ways. It reminds Louis that Harry's been around  
longer than he has and among his possible vices, were the littlest quirks he's bound to love.  
Harry is simple and Louis can bet the finest threads of his soul that there has never been another Dominus  
who is the same. It makes him fall a bit more in love with Harry.

"Good choice." He manages to get out, lips twitching into something that's a hybrid of awe and fondness.  
The Dominus is pleased and it shows by the way he fights to hide his relieved smile. Louis can thankfully reach  
the largest pack of this caramel delight and puts it in their trolley instead of Harry's demonstrative small pack.  
He doesn't want to walk ahead of the cart anymore even though he should, and wordlessly comes to Harry's  
side so that they're paired.

Whenever they were stationary and Harry wasn't occupied with pushing the trolley, either one initiated the  
hand-holding between them. Louis liked to flex his fingers in the alternative gaps of Harry's, while the man  
preferred to hold steady and thumb over Louis' knuckles.  
At the frozen goods section with endless rows of topless deep freezers, Louis had to let go of Harry to find the  
right kinds of whole chicken. He was a fan of chicken and so picked out the perfect ones. Harry found soya  
and Louis pouted.

"Why soya?" He asked, examining the choices in ice cream.  
Harry chuckled, both of them suffering from their fingers being numb with the cold. "I quite like soya."  
"Okay but I'm not eating it." Louis pointed out to him before accepting the green packet into their grocery  
accumulation.  
The problem of their nearly blue fingers had not been taken care off and even though the chill would naturally  
disipitate soon, Harry didn't like that. He took Louis' hands in his and enclosed them in an oyster shape of his  
palms for warmth rejuvenation.  
"Hey, Harry?" Louis curled his fingers inward and pulled the oyster formation apart to lock their hands  
together.

The small frown upon Harry's brow softens when he sees Louis take a step forward. He looks up for a moment  
and a soft pair of thin lips that taste like what lay behind them, crashed into his. Harry's chest growled as it  
did everytime they kissed, his inbred possessiveness coming to the forefront. 

Louis separates one of their unions at their hands and brings it up the back of Harry's neck, pushing himself  
up whilst pulling the man down to him. The kiss only deepened when Harry touched Louis' hip where the boy's  
shirt jumped a little, grasping the bare supple skin as he opened his mouth and took over Louis' senses.  
Harry was concentrating on the kiss, attacking Louis' lips everytime there was a need to pull away. He reeled  
Louis' body in closer to his, eliminating all space between them as he licked into the boy's mouth to taste  
everything. Their tongues didn't battle and Louis let him have the dominance, moaning louder than he should  
when Harry massaged the wet muscle with his own.

When the time came for them to part because other people were partially disturbed by their public displays,  
Harry's torso was in a hum as he clenched his jaw and suffered the separation.  
Louis felt it too. The despair made his heart clench and his breathing turn to chopped intakes. Harry leaned  
forward again, hungry for more but Louis avoided his gesture even though it pained him.  
"At home." Louis said to him, scraping the hairline at Harry's nape with his fingertips. He found an estranged  
flame in the Dominus' eye, then became its prey no sooner. "Kiss me when we're home, my love."  
Harry was unhappy with it but that was to be predicted. He nodded reluctantly and instead pecked Louis'  
forehead. "I have never been this eager to return to my own roof before, haud mirum."

The grocery store became well acquainted with the unmated couple who behaved like they were, in just this  
one day. Louis perused the shelves of edibles and small equipment, deeming a few worthy and others  
unnecessary. He bought honey in a pack of four medium container sizes, picking cereals that were frosted and  
some round.

They ended up needing two trolleys as everyone else did. This grocer dealt with bulk buy and nobody here  
lived from day to day. The retail clothing store just a few doors down was the same.  
"Winter is coming." Harry spoke up for the first time since their indecency in the frozen goods section, the tip  
of his nose red and everywhere else nearly chalk white.  
Louis raised his eyebrow, awaiting further explanation of this sudden statement.  
Harry helped him get their purchases scanned and re-pile them into the trolleys. "Winter in the cabin is not  
very pleasant without proper insulation."

"Okay." Louis watched him make use of a wallet that always lay idle on Harry's nightstand. He paid with a  
blood red card of some kind. "So we should get better clothing?"  
"Yes." The Dominus got his card back and put it away before any questions were asked. "Each winter is  
different. This year will be one of the worst."

Louis frowned at the news. "You're going to be outside in that weather?"  
"No, haud mirum." Harry promised with a small laugh. They were stocking their groceries into the back of  
Harry's SUV at this point. "We graduate on the day of the first snow for winter."  
Louis looks forward now to Harry's 'graduation'. He knows after studying the topic for a short time that a  
Dominus' passing of his training was an outstanding achievement. For any who excelled at it - although there  
were very few who did and even Harry wasn't one of them because of his prosthetic leg - their reward was  
somehow greater. 

"Really?" Louis hands Harry the small items like the candy and bakery boxes, leaving the Dominus to himself  
pick up things like trays of canned food and packs of bottled water. "What if snow doesn't fall?"  
Harry barks a laugh and fails to smother it with a rub of his palm. He feels comfortable around this boy and  
doesn't need to hide anything. "Winter has seen snow fall for every century since this tradition began."  
"You never know." Louis sing-songs, handing Harry back to SUV's keys when the boot is sealed.  
Rather than responding with something amused and sharp, Harry extends his hand and Louis' slips into it. He  
fills the spaces Harry had in voids and made him feel toasty from within.

The clothing store is massive and continues on for what is probably a mile indoors, feeding to the public rails  
and racks of clothing or gear that are seasonally appropriate. Thirteen counters await the cash exchange for  
such merchandise, and Louis passes them on his way to the first couple of selections.  
"No, haud mirum." Harry tugged on his wrist to take Louis away from the blazers and sweaters, towards the  
bulkier jackets. "We live at a peak where the cold is at its worst."

"Oh." Louis folds his arms over his narrow chest and follows in the fold of Harry's arm.  
To his horror, Harry presents a light brown jacket that's taller than him and twice as thick in faux fur. "This is  
suitable."

"No." Louis can't even hold it up without one arm sagging under the weight. "It's horrendous."  
"It doesn't matter." Harry frowns and dismisses such remarks. "I always buy one of these for winter."  
"For you." Louis clarifies. He'd rather cocoon himself in a dozen blankets and never move.  
"Yes." Harry nods, folding the jacket over his arm as if it didn't weigh like a cow. "I would like to pick one out  
for you."

Louis can't bring himself to say no even if he thought about considering it. He kisses Harry's pectoral again.  
"You know best, my love."  
"I do." Harry confirms, a wince making his features twitch because he was battling something internally. "If you  
do that one more time, haud mirum, I'll have to return the favour."  
A gasp frees itself from Louis' lips and gets lost in the wind. He felt heat in his cheeks and blood rushing to  
the spot on his neck where he's been promised kisses. Cheeks flaming, Louis nods in understanding and  
preens when Harry starts to lightly rub the skin between his shoulderblades.  
"Haud mirum, winter begins tomorrow." Harry doesn't make a move to part with Louis. "We have a lot to  
prepare for it."

Louis feared the cold that Harry tells him of. He will have to contend with it however, irrespective of the  
difficulty because he has Harry who just might be with utter certainly the finest and kindest man to ever live.  
"Okay." He sniffles and pulls away. "Do we need anything besides the jackets?"  
Turns out the answer was yes because Harry ended up buying things that would be in excess for Louis, but he  
didn't say anything because he hasn't seen a winter the way Harry has. Now he will and he's a little frightened.   
Besides the jackets, Harry got pairs of gloves and made Louis choose between the purple or green mittens.  
Louis chose green but didn't say why. He knows of the boy's compulsion to wear socks without shoes so he  
bought extra thick ones. Vapour rub was important during the winter, he informed Louis. They got a tub of it  
and Louis smelt it close to seven times because of the minty scent.

From the personal care section at the back, Harry got them the toiletries they'd be needing. When  
toothbrushes came up, Louis smiled and Harry looked at him questioningly but he too knew what the boy was  
hinting at. The shed outside behind the store accessible through a manual gate, had Harry trying to choose  
between two generators. He already had one at home but a new one will probably be more efficient.  
"All done?" Louis was perched on a barrel of gunpowder, legs crossed and playing with a deck of cards he  
asked to have.

"Yes." Harry said after approaching him, hands on Louis' knees and blocking out the men carrying the  
generator to their car. "We are in town, would you like to eat here?"  
Louis dropped his legs over the edge of the barrel and Harry stood the the side of them. The Dominus awaited  
the day he could rest between them. "Is that a date?"  
"A date?" Harry doesn't understand the word other than the conventional usage and the frown worrying his  
features says so.

A little something breaks in Louis' heart for his Dominus. Harry didn't know what a date is and he finds himself  
holding onto the man's hand tighter. "We go out together somewhere."  
Harry barely catches on. "But we are courting."  
"Yes." Louis bites his lip and accepts the packets he's given by the cashier, watching the red card being tucked  
away again. "But asking a person to go to court with them doesn't sound very nice."  
Harry's laugh is a loud and hoarse one that's close to his regular drawl of words. "How is the word date any  
better, haud mirum?"

"I don't know." He shrugs and steps into the cold outside again. "It sounds cute."  
Harry's pupil darted to the corner of his eye, momentarily regarding Louis before his smirk lightens. "I feel the  
need to further research this topic,haud mirum."  
Louis retakes Harry's hand in his and begins their stroll towards the only actual reputable restaurant. "I-It's not  
complicated, really."  
The Dominus circles Louis' hands with his own and pulls him closer rather than letting any distance form  
between them. Louis doesn't appreciate any amount of unwarranted distance separating them either but he's  
more subtle about it.

Fortunately, there is a booth available to Harry's liking in the back of the eating establishment. It is with  
comfortable cushioned seats in a semi-circle around the table, place settings already laid out and a tray of  
bread sticks brough up to them immediately. The taste is warm and contains hints of garlic, soothing the  
rumbling of Louis' tummy for a bit.

The meal options on the menu are hard to pronounce but Louis recognises most of them. He sank his teeth  
into his lower lip and chewed some more on the same bread stick.   
Suddenly he felt the need to look up and found Harry staring at him, face unreadable except for that pair of  
wrinkles at the corner of his left eyebrow. Louis blushed and lowered his head, chin almost touching his chest,  
trying to maintain his composure.

"Wine, Dominus?" The waitress returned in her prim black and white uniform, taking the wine list from Harry.  
"Yes." Harry's gaze is unfaltering and shameless as it burns right through the candle flame placed in the centre  
of the table. "The le Roux. Two glasses."

Louis heard the waitress say something and scurry off to leave them in their isolation. He looked up again,  
partially hoping he'd have the courage to return Harry's soulful stare in all its dark glory, only to discover that  
the Dominus was focusing on the menu now.

* * * * *

They were home. Bags were abandoned and Louis' feet didn't touch the ground yet when Harry had him by his  
waist, lifting his weight to bring him inside. Pressed up against the door Louis had his personal space  
vanquished as Harry redeemed his promise of kissing when they were at home.

Harry's fingers just escaped the ledge of the door as it slammed shut and he plastered his upper body to  
Louis', not wanting to scare him with pushing too far. His palm was flat and extended to the highest part on  
the wall it would reach, the other hand curled around Louis' throat to direct his line of fire.  
Harry didn't have to pry Louis' lips apart and he got instant access to the intoxicant that is the boy's riveting  
taste. He groans into it and the sound is drowned out by Louis' whines, muted whimpers making his  
fingernails dig into Harry's shoulders.

Their kissing session got deeper, filthier without setting out for it to be. Louis was putty in the sculpting hands  
of Harry's grace and prowess, stretching upward whenever the man threatened to leave him. He liked the  
invasion of Harry's tongue flicking against his, their teeth clashing and noses bumping as they tried to take it  
all the way.

Harry withdrew for a moment. It wasn't enough as he felt the deprivation as soon as it happened. "Again."  
Louis was all too willing to oblige, the poorly weather outside belonging to another dimension as they  
wrapped themselves up in each other. His arms locked around Harry's neck and the Dominus aided him in  
lifting him slightly to better the degree of dipping whenever he wanted to kiss the boy.  
Somehow Harry's legs became tangled with Louis' and the latter male was close to being hoisted entirely off  
the ground. Their ardent desires were fierce by their positions once the flame dimmed within them, leaving  
them in one another's embrace.

"I never want to stop kissing you, haud mirum." Harry's thumb brushed the swollen plumpness of Louis' upper  
lip, licking his own to remember the taste. "I never want to stop being close to you."  
"You won't." Louis promises to the Dominus, pressing their foreheads together and closing his eyes. "My love,  
you are mine and I am yours."

* * * * *   
Dinner was not an extravagant one but everything that it consisted of was procured from family secrets Louis  
learnt from his kitchen addict of a mother. He made spaghetti with his favourite recipe for Swedish meatballs,  
grating cheese to sprinkle over while the bolognaise simmered.

Harry spent his evening unloading their bags and bringing the horses in under shelter into a reasonably sized  
barn attached to the back of the cabin. He came in and locked the back door, taking the stairs two at a time to  
have his shower because Louis already took his.

Each time they passed by each other for one reason or the other, a faint pulse of electricity came alive and  
made them nervous. Harry was best at hiding it but Louis was prone to ducking his face or shying away when  
his Dominus glanced his way again.

Time to eat came around seven and already it was as dark as midnight outside, the howling of wolves  
signalling that it was now their territory.

Harry came downstairs in sweatpants and bare feet, his chest unnecessarily bare and giving Louis something  
to ogle at every spare moment. So what if the bolognaise got burnt? Tattoos and more tattoos were plainly  
visible on such taut skin, worked hard beneath the sun and the scars to attest for it.  
Louis felt overdressed in his excessively large navy T-shirt and matching slacks that needed to be folded at  
the ankles so it didn't touch the ground. He had thick woollen socks on but his feet were still not entirely at  
peace with the chill bound to set into his bones.

"We will eat in the living room." Harry comes to tell him as he's preparing two plates. "I lit the fire place so it's  
warmer."

"Okay." Louis handed Harry his plate and his skin buzzed where their fingers connected briefly.  
They made themselves comfortable for this time to be spent silent and engaged in their meals. The awkward,  
nervous tension was back and this time is bugged Louis. It felt like over the course of today the two mates  
have grown closer and returning to a blushing, anxious routine seemed to be heartbreaking.  
He decides to make a change.

While he was already in Harry's lap, he utilised the seconds that the Dominus wasn't looking at him to move  
around a bit. It was probably going to make a mess with their food and drinks but he's far too determined  
now. Harry let's him go on, stifling any groans from the boy wiggling on his lap by holding his breath.  
At last Louis managed to get himself across Harry's lap with his weight perched on one muscular thigh, his  
legs folded to the side of him so he could lean on Harry's shoulder. The Dominus' misfortune came around  
when he realised that he had no way of eating except a way around Louis.  
"Haud mirum." He says, amused but not entirely discouraging. "Would you care to share a plate with me?"  
Temporarily, Louis doesn't know what Harry meant by asking him that. His facial features scrunch up in  
thought but the Dominus overrides everything with his throaty chuckle and presses a kiss on Louis' temple.  
Confiscating Louis' cutlery, Harry creates enough space on his own plate to bear the load of the boy's portion  
as well. He transfers the food from Louis' plate to his and sets the excess dish on the floor by his feet.  
It certainly made things more convenient because of the lack of a need for more space and detours around the  
other person. Louis still had his fork but his appetite was lost in a tangle of unforgiving knots, nerves and  
bright hope skipping to the front of his mind. 

"Haud mirum." Harry grumbles, clearly his upset at a failed plan becoming evident.  
Louis found him remarkably adorable for a Dominus with a discontent pout. "I'm fine, my love."  
To prove his claim, Louis sat comfortably on the man's lap with his knees bent and the plate they had in  
common resting atop his thighs. It was quite a comical scene perhaps, painting the mural of a to-be mated  
pair that may not have all the cutlery in the world and had to live in such unfortunate circumstances. That  
would be an outsider's point of view who had no idea how much they'd rather share a possession than have  
the finest individual objects.

"I have a question for you, haud mirum." Harry laid out after there was just Louis' food left to be consumed.  
"Yes?" Louis twirled some of the ruthless spaghetti strands around the prongs of his fork, glancing up to smile  
anxiously.

Harry took a moment before saying anything further. He studied Louis' motions and uncovered his dormant  
desire to be actively involved in the boy's every move. Without permission, he makes Louis surrender his  
utensil so he may feed the boy himself.  
"Oh." Louis' hands fall limp and useless. He's not so displeased by it anyway because there's an innate feature  
that has him finding happiness in being taken care of.  
"Do you remember-" Harry tries not to stare at Louis' rounded lips closing around the forkful of stringy pasta  
being fed to him. "-when I said this winter is to be a noteworthy one?"  
"You said it will be awful." Louis paraphrases for his benefit.

Chuckling to himself, Harry nods. "Yes, I did. My question is to see whether you'd like to....spend it elsewhere."  
Louis stops chewing and sits back, upright and defensive as worry dawns over him in thick clouds. "You want  
me to leave?"  
Harry rushes to rectify his error, eyes wide in contempt and concern. "When I was outside an hour ago, haud  
mirum, the air felt different."  
"What kind of different?" Louis is reclaiming his permanent home between Harry's broad, protective shoulders  
sheltering him from the weather and other vile threats.  
"Bad different." Harry whispers, irrevocably smitten with how blue Louis' eyes are when they're peering up into  
his like two variations of the same magnificent ocean.  
"Oh." Louis is ignoring the amount of skin contact they're having, and burrowing into Harry's chest like a  
kitten. "I'm staying."

Harry leaves the empty plate on the floor as well and wraps his arms around Louis' waist, breathing in deep as  
he lowers himself into a lengthwise position over the couch. "We might get snowed in."  
"So?" Louis giggles, lighting up Harry's whole world.

"It isn't pleasant, haud mirum." Harry warns, serious overtone and slight hints of his Alpha-like heritage.  
Sighing, Louis reaches up and caresses Harry's jaw with his cold fingertips. "We'll be here together, my love."   
Harry's exasperation is strong when he buries his face in Louis' tummy, breathing ticklish gushes into the soft  
skin. The boy's shirt was an obstruction but the Dominus didn't want to cross any boundaries. Louis was  
against the armrest, his fingers combing through Harry's hair as the latter flinched at a memory of what being  
snowed in was like.

"You've experienced it before." Louis read Harry like a book and it was terrifying.  
There was no response. Harry listened to the silence from his hideout in Louis' soft abdomen, hands kept to  
themselves where he lay beside the boy's legs instead of between them.  
"My love." Louis sounded softer, saddened. He shifted enough to grant Harry's first wish, allowing the  
Dominus to rest between his thighs while they supported his hunched back and he trusted Harry to be this  
intimate with him.

"Haud mirum, it is not for you to worry about the past." Harry says strictly, too absolved of his troubles  
because of Louis' body like ivy around him.  
"But it is for you?" Louis challenges. The bravery came from a place unknown but it was here to stay.  
"Yes." Harry's eyes were closed yet he didn't notice. He slid an arm around the back of Louis and left the other  
to lay jobless.

"Harry, we are going to be mates." Louis tries to keep any emotion from flooding his system but he fails and  
the prickle of something at the corner of his eye builds. "Will you keep things from me then? Even when I ask?"  
Despite all the comfort and cloud nine sensations running wild through his frame, Harry scowls and Louis sees  
it. "Knowing this isn't necessary for you."  
"For me?" Louis hates the sting at the rim of his eye. "I care for you, Harry. I share a bed with you. Every burden  
of yours is mine too."

"No." Harry curts, cold and harsh. This is a new side of him and Louis isn't fond of the distant reproach in  
Harry's eyes at all.  
"Yes, Harry." He insists, stepping into a pot of hot water he shouldn't be near. "I'm not here just to cook and  
clean. You're pushing me away when we're supposed to be honest with each other."  
"Fine, haud mirum."

Harry is a formidable presence when he picks himself up and pushes Louis down flat on his back, his arms  
bracketing the boy's shoulders as he loomed over him. Everything was black, even the colour of his eyes.  
"I was fourteen and the only roof on this cabin was a sheet of plastic. The snow came and lasted for three  
days. I got to watch as it completely covered the only home I had, watch the sky disappear. I was alone. I had  
five blankets and three growing horses to care for. The two you saw outside were the ones to survive."  
The completion of his story was conducted in the confines of Louis' midsection. Harry did not hesitate to press  
his face into its warmth, its facade of love. He had to calm down and Louis could feel something radiate off  
him, causing the skin on him to vibrate and teeth to clench.

"I am sorry, haud mirum." Harry unintentionally dug his fingers into Louis' sides and his chest heaved, all  
products of being worked up. "I do not want to consult with my past when you are my future."   
There were no words on Louis' tongue except those of apology. He felt sick to his heart hearing this story and  
he needed to get that feeling out. Imagining a little adolescent boy with the weights of such massive  
responsibility as the lives of animals put on his shoulders during his loneliness, made Louis nauseous.  
"My love." He started, not knowing how else to. "Oh my love, I'm so sorry that happened to you."  
He can't slink down to Harry's level because the Dominus wants his comfort to come from Louis' tummy. The  
man had his lips parted and their wetness leaving trails on Louis' shirt as he shifted slightly. Louis sniffed and  
wiped his cheeks when a tear fell, followed by another.  
"Harry, what can I do?" He pleaded for a purpose.

"Let me be with you." Harry replied, voice cracked. He brought himself higher to hear Louis' heartbeat in his  
ear, the boy's leg draped over his hip when he turned onto his side. "There is no greater comfort than you,  
haud mirum."

"I made you tell a story you didn't need to. Please don't hate me for it, my love." Louis could hear the whistling  
of the wind banging against trees and the sides of their little home. He kissed Harry behind his ear and didn't  
protest when the Dominus circled one of his socks with his hand.

"How could you say that when you are everything to me? You exist in me, haud mirum. My heart, my soul."  
Harry kissed Louis' fingertips with his other free hand. "To hate you is to hate myself."  
Louis pressed his lips to Harry's cheek and curled himself around the Dominus, protecting him from whatever  
misery came with the memory of before.

"Your feet are cold." Harry suddenly said, squeezing Louis' foot and sounding disapproving.  
Laughing as the tension eased, Louis' felt Harry shuffle back down much lower than before. His leg was bent  
and the inside of his thigh used as a pillow for Harry's head. Louis blushed at the position but said nothing,  
gasping when his socks were pried off his feet.

The leg of his that wasn't under Harry's body rested on the man's side, his ankle on Harry's hip. Sitting up  
straight, Louis could monitor the Dominus' moves better.  
"What are you doing?" He asked, biting his lip.  
Harry' lips curled into a smirk and he pulled the quilt off the back off the couch, cloaking them both in it. "Lie  
with me, haud mirum."  
"With you down there and I up here?"

A playful spark was present in Harry's returning green shade in his eyes. "Indeed."  
It didn't work out that way for long. Harry craved Louis in his arms far too much for him to be patient, and  
lured the boy down into his embrace quickly. Louis' ear was at his heart and Harry managed to repay all the  
kisses granted to him on the boy's neck. He aimed for his most sensitive spot, revelling like a champion in  
every gasp he got from Louis.

"I will mark you here one day." Harry had his arms braced tightly around Louis' shoulders, the cold unable to  
affect them. He pressed a hard kiss to the already pink skin of Louis' throat.   
When Harry growled, Louis shut his eyes and tucked his hands in between them. "Will it be soon, my love?"  
A hum entered his hearing and Louis smiled at it. "As soon as you want it to be, haud mirum."  
Louis' eyes flew open but not much else of his posture changed. He decided to ask something else, snuggling  
contently into Harry's body cautiously. "What if I said tonight?"  
Harry's body grew tense but not at all because of reluctance. He's dreamed of mating with Louis on the perfect  
night with the moon above them and Louis beneath him.

Such thoughts raged a war within himself and he had to make sure these words were genuine. His fingers  
brushed some of Louis' hair aside and suddenly the boy was whimpering from too much pressure from sharp  
teeth on his skin. The pain was nightmarish and Louis squirmed desperately, Harry's canines leaving behind a  
tiny strain of essence.

"Mating is painful, haud mirum." Harry said upon withdrawing, the taste of Louis' skin and sweat on his  
tongue. "It is too soon."  
Louis' eyes were wild and his body was electrocuted, high on pulses of energy that Harry had given to him. He  
swallowed thickly and nuzzled Harry's neck, trying to lose some of that adrenaline.  
"Hush, baby." Harry's new loving name for Louis made him whine.

He's bringing his arms up to lock around Harry's neck, shutting his eyelids and sniffling loudly to Harry's  
amusement as the Dominus gently guided his legs to straddle him. It led to nothing else. Harry covered them  
with the quilt and listened to Louis' small noises, rubbing his back and kissing his neck.

Louis remembers learning about mating ceremonies. They were indeed painful but maybe for him it might be  
even more so. Wolves mated privately and sometimes it lasted for days, neither mate wanting to give up the  
bliss of a new bond. The mark would come from blunt teeth because Louis isn't a wolf and he is bound to  
bleed for even a second.

"Do not worry, haud mirum." Harry's lips traced the tiny mark he left behind on Louis' neck. "You will always be  
the only one for me."


	5. chapter five

Louis had a bowl of sugary cereal in his lap with every crunch of the corn goodness being audible to his ears  
as he flipped the pages in his latest choice of a novel. He wasn't alone in the living room for Harry was right  
beside him, feeding on his own breakfast of fried eggs and hashbrowns. The Dominus was bravely trying to  
hide his smirk whilst watching Louis eat around a tablespoon that was obviously too big for his mouth.

"Do we not have-" Harry leaned across and his thumb swiped over the white droplets escaping the corner of  
Louis' lips. "-more suitable spoons,haud mirum?"

Louis pouted at the man's comment and his otherwise lively but pale cheeks, turned pink at Harry's skin  
grazing his. "We do. I was just really hungry."

Harry's frown comes to his features as he withdraws after a meeting of his lips on Louis' forehead. When he's a  
space back he sees that Louis' eyes are closed before they flutter back to consciousness.

"Will the cereal be enough, haud mirum?" Harry checks, worried that his only sweetheart will be left unhappy  
because he didn't eat adequately.

"I think so." Louis chews some more and swallows, scooping up a bit in his spoon for another round.

"That won't do." Harry shakes his head and removes any bother of doubt by taking the bowl with him as he  
leaves the couch.

"But-"

Harry's hand extended towards him. "Come."

Louis took it and stood up as well, being guided to the kitchen by his Dominus who sought to amuse him. The  
winter days were already settling in as one could tell by the ravenous winds outside pelting against the sides  
of their haven, uneasing the nerves of the horses in their barn.

The air whipping about their feet from the gap beneath the locked door was vengeful and Louis felt his ankles  
go rigid many a time during the day. It wasn't the best sensation to have the frostiness creeping up the soles  
of his feet to leave him in pain.  
Harry hadn't known about that discomfort and he still doesn't. They've been cooped up in their little cabin for  
a whole day now, this being the second and the snow hasn't begun to grace their grounds yet.

"I'm cold." Louis complained, even with his two long-sleeved shirts and extra thick double layer of socks.

Harry turned around from the stove to consider this, chewing his upper lip in conflict. He too had on twice as  
much clothing, but the oncoming winter was beating out their reserves easily.

"It's an early hour." Harry replied heatedly, two black orbs focusing on Louis across the counter. "I could light  
the fireplace for you?"

Louis grabs the hot water bottle they've been using for their frozen nights, milking it for the dregs of warmth  
it had left. "Maybe we could bring our mattress down here?"

Harry peeled open the tab of a sachet of creamy soup, letting a portion of water simmer in a pot over the  
stove. The smell of flavoured chicken and mushroom filled his senses and Louis' tummy rumbled without  
command at it.

"You do not eat enough, haud mirum." Harry admonishes without appearing to be threatening. He fetches the  
leftover bread Louis prepared last night and spreads butter over the slices to sit in the oven. "I do not like  
that."

"I eat plenty." Louis defends gutlessly, well aware that he isn't eating as much as he should be.

Harry doesn't let such a subject go as easily. He continues to regard the preparations of Louis' proper  
breakfast whilst thinking about how many more covers they'll have to bring out from the closet. "Your idea is  
clever, haud mirum. We can bring the bed down here for the fire."

Louis beams at him, self-appeased and a little tiredness tugging at the crinkles of his eyes. Casually, he  
speaks again. "You were late to bed last night." 

"I know." Harry plucked the toasted bread from their tray and poured the promising soup into a large ceramic  
bowl. It heated up in his palms first before being passed to Louis. He looked the boy in the eye when he laid  
out his instruction. "Eat all of it. I am serious, haud mirum."

"Okay." Louis obliges, mouth watering at the sight of delectable soup instead of cold milk in crispy cereal.  
"Thank you, my love."

"No." Harry stopped Louis from taking his first bite, coming around the bend to pick up the saucer of bread.  
Louis pauses, a rather comical twist of his circular lips. "No?"  
Harry chuckles at something secret and holds out his other hand, helping Louis out of his seat. "Eat with me  
by the fire?"

Finding humour and admirable romance in such an offering, Louis follows Harry with his bowl of soup and  
nods his consent. The short trip to the couch is over when Harry hands Louis back the bread plate and walks  
behind the contraption to brace his hands against the structure and push it forward. The sound of solid  
wooden legs dragging against an aged selection of floorboards makes Louis wince at first, then grow  
accustomed to it.

Harry stops at last when the sofa is before the fireplace, tucked away in a little nook where they can seek  
refuge from the cold. When Louis makes to move forward, the Dominus holds up his finger for him to wait.  
"I should tell you-" Louis' bottom lip is jutting out ahead of the top one. "-I am the least patient member of my  
family."

Upon passing Louis by, Harry offers him a lopsided smile with dimples arming the edges. "As am I, haud  
mirum."

Louis' wait lasts for a minute at most, during which Harry fetches the comforter and miscellaneous blankets  
from upstairs. He drapes half of them over the sofa so they're trailing on the floor but also bunched up at the  
corners of the cushions. The Dominus disappears for a moment more then reappears with a stack of books  
that he places at the foot of the couch.

"This is as close as I will get to building you a palace." Harry says, scratchy and syrupy slow from lack of sleep.  
He gestures to the comfy arrangement and Louis grins, easily excited to cuddle in it.

"I will not be needing a palace when I have this." Louis reminds him, stepping around the corner of the couch  
to climb onto it.

His legs are crossed and he's cradling the hot bowl of soup with both hands, even so not meeting the size  
requirement. Harry is hopelessly smitten with this angel of a boy, a specimen sent to him straight from the  
Gods. They wanted to reward him for something grand and they chose their finest angel to be his consort.  
Harry joined Louis in their cocoon and made the duty of the other blankets be to ensure they're thoroughly  
insulated from above. He lies on his side between Louis and the couch's back support, the boy nestled in the  
curve of his arm. The Dominus felt Louis' legs find a place between his and pulled him closer, inhaling the  
sweet scent of Louis from his mating spot.

"Your feet are cold again." Harry mumbles into the unmarked territory but claimed territory of Louis' throat. He  
almost had the boy's source of pulse between his teeth.   
"They're always cold." Louis dismisses the worry. He finishes the soup and reaches over to put the dishes down  
on the floor.

"They should not be so." Harry always has warm everything, from head to toe.  
Louis flexes his toes against Harry's thigh and makes himself a home below the Dominus' chin. He felt that  
tightness in his muscle again, the joint bones of his ankle regions set ablaze. The pain of it was horrendous  
and he sighed loudly, trying to mask a little huff.

"Your hands are warm." Louis says to distract them both, satisfied with the brush of Harry's palms up and  
down the length of his back.

Harry smiles against Louis' temple and gives him a small squeeze. Nothing felt better than holding this boy in  
his arms, hearing his heart beat against his and skin radiate warmth to an equilibrium with his own.  
"I look forward to this winter." Louis spoke after it was just the crackle and flicker of orange flames left to fill  
the silence. "I'll get to wake up next to you every morning."

"And I next to you." Harry kisses his mate's forehead and cheek, hugging him even tighter like the cold could  
take him away. "Haud mirum, would you mind if I took off the leg?"

Louis' become aware of every circumstance under which Harry could and will ask him this question. His  
prosthetic leg made cuddling uncomfortable because its purpose was now rendered moot. Louis felt better  
without anyway due it resulting in just him and Harry being part of their activities.  
"Go ahead." He answered.

Louis made enough room for the man do unstrap the wooden piece and rest it against the side of the couch,  
leaning back again to be covered by a smaller male. Harry's hoarse chuckle was pressed into Louis' ear where  
he lay a kiss and started caressing the boy's hip.

The missing portion - however majority - of Harry's leg never caused a hindrance in their private time taken  
apart from the world to curl up as one and fall asleep together. Louis still tucked his freezing cold feet  
between Harry's thighs and gripped the Dominus' shirt like an ivy vine.

"I was thinking-" Louis starts to trace star shapes on Harry's torso with his fingertip. "-about getting some  
hens."

Harry pauses for a brief moment and stares at Louis' head of hair, his eyebrow meeting the hairline above it  
when the boy tilted his head back. "Hens, haud mirum?"

"Yeah." Louis brings himself up closer, incidentally presenting his bare neck to Harry again.  
It always drove the Dominus up the wall whenever Louis did that unknowingly. He'd let his fingers clasp the  
boy's throat in a harmless cage and let his warmth radiate like spikes into Louis' body, marking him up on the  
inside. He knew Louis was continuing to justify the case of chickens in their yard, but his face buried in that  
delectable expanse of pale skin had his inner wolf salivating.

"Harry?" Louis realised he's been talking to a wall when Harry starts to make those infamous short growls from  
the depths of his chest, more animalistic. "You're not listening, my love."

The Dominus stopped growling like a purring beast and remained in his sanctuary. "I was not."   
Louis pokes Harry's indestructible forearm, wrapping his hand around it but unable to go all the way. "You  
were meant to."

"I apologise?"

The playfulness is new-found and rare in Harry's mood swaps. This makes Louis gasp and giggle when the  
Dominus doesn't at all look interested in his repent. Trying to leave is also futile for Harry is an iron clad grasp  
that's far too in love to let go.

"You may have all the poultry you want, haud mirum." Harry chuckles in a deeply unnerving way that sets  
Louis' skin to tingle where his smile is pressed to it. "Maybe your garden can be completed first?"  
"Oh yes." Louis remembers all the seeds he bought for carrots to sunflowers. He only planned to utilise a small  
patch of the ground outside for fresh ingredients everyday.

"I look forward to not waking up everyday at dawn." Harry was yawning, obnoxiously refraining from covering  
it with his hand.

"Me too." Louis does it for him, his small cupped hand closing over the man's widening lips. "I get to make  
breakfast at an hour that is normal."

Harry laughs along with capturing Louis' hand and lacing their fingers together, resting the unit on his chest. "I  
get to be the first to see you in sunlight."

Louis' blush is enough to heat up the coldest of confines of the most frightening of nights. He was made  
impossibly more beautiful by the light of their fire cast on the side of his face, letting a glow burn from inside  
him. Harry appeared ruled by the forces of nature. His structure was rigid, jaw always tense and features  
always stable.

It's Louis' eyes that dart towards the windows first, widening upon the sight through the glass panes. "Harry,  
look."

Reluctantly turning his head to see the same thing, Harry is also shocked to see white flecks of ice crafted by  
Mother Nature falling to the ground. He straps his booted leg back on before he gets off the couch when  
Louis' weight is removed, walking over to the sealed window and feeling like he fell into another portal.  
Harry is not in control of anything he does or feels. He can't feel the cold whipping around his one bare leg  
and sitting malevolently in his bones. He stares out the crystal white glass that's frosted at the corners with  
one hand braced against it, white puffs of air escaping him everytime he exhaled.

"Harry, no." Louis has to stop the Dominus when he witnesses a reach for the window latch.  
Luckily, his mate is as mellow as he usually never is and can be easily led back to the safety of the couch. He  
doesn't reprimand him just yet, instead letting him lie down at a different angle so Harry can watch the snow.  
Something seems to have been triggered in him because the man doesn't blink or move apart from what Louis  
does for him.

Louis sits down beside Harry and crosses his legs, pulling the abundance of covers over them both again.  
Harry's instinct to have Louis as close as possible kicks in and he snakes an arm around the boy's waist, not  
looking away from the window.

"Are you okay?" Louis is worried by this switch in modes. Harry's never been this disabled before. "My love?"   
Harry doesn't snap out of it all the way but he's returned to Louis a fair amount, his head space releasing his  
inner wolf. The inner wolf with primal conduct hoping to have an early departing from the consistent press of  
his training.

"You spaced out on me." Louis says to him when he can see all of the glorious green come back into Harry's  
earthy eyes. "What happened?"  
"Do you remember what I told you about the snow falling in winter?" The Dominus smiles softly, kissing his  
little love's forehead once more.  
"You graduate now, don't you?" Louis is eager to see Harry pass the realm of preparation into the true  
responsibility and meaning of a Dominus, a master.

"Yes, haud mirum. Have you studied a wolf's graduation?" He asks next, something indecipherably dark about  
the clouds of his gaze.

"Um...-" Louis tries to recall any classes but cannot. "Not really. Tell me?"

Harry waits to first prop Louis up on his lap, finding peace and adoration in the way his boy's cheeks become  
that memorable shade of rose petal pink. He has his hands on Louis' waist, supporting him in his mission to  
remain upright whilst straddling Harry's thighs. Louis looked extra tiny in all the bedsheets concealing his  
features and curves, wrapped entirely around him.

"Unmated wolves will receive a branding from their mentor." Harry sits up himself and pulls his Louis closer to  
him, arms stretched out behind him. He is proud of the curious, attentive look Louis is sporting. "Mated  
wolves will fight."

Louis' curiosity leads him to be stunned, lips slightly parted. "Which are you?"  
Choosing a consort for wolves was as important as already marking that partner. There was no difference and  
it made Harry's eyes turn an inexplicable shade of black. "The latter."  
"Oh." Louis' palms are flat on Harry's pectorals, fingertips pawing at the man's bare skin beneath his shirt. "Oh  
no."

"Not at all, haud mirum." Harry smiles convincingly and hugs Louis tightly, burying his face in Louis' neck and  
breathing moderately. "I get to prove myself to you."  
"But-" The tip of Louis' nose is cold where it presses against Harry's steady pulse. "But I don't want you to get  
hurt."  
"I won't." Harry chuckles as if the challenge ahead is set to be the easiest he's faced. "I know the other mated  
wolves. There is no need to worry."

"I'm worried." Louis contradicts with a sniffle, squeezing Harry around his neck.  
"My sweet haud mirum." The Dominus is amused and flattered by Louis' concern, scenting the boy's skin  
where he can to return the favour. "Please do not trouble yourself."

"Then promise me something." Louis draws in a shaky breath, cupping Harry's cheek and making their eyes  
meet.  
"What would you like?" Harry kisses that wrist of his, reconnecting their gazes with his fiery affection.   
"Come back home-" The boy presses his lips to Harry's jaw. "-and mate me."

Repeating his appearance of going stiff with worried tension, the Dominus tries not to sound disinterested  
when he dissuades his mate. "Haud mirum, that is a step you are not ready to take yet."  
"You say that-" Louis argues, pushing himself up into a reasonably high seated position over Harry's abdomen.  
"-yet you want this bond as much as I do, my love."

"That is true." Harry can't fight the fact that his heart gallops when he thinks of Louis or that his blood sings in  
his veins when the image of Louis' neck with a bite mark from him is depicted. "I am still far more concerned  
about your well-being."

"I'll be fine, Harry." Louis tries to convince him, forcing his point across with a desperate sadness in his eye like  
an unshed teardrop. "I know you'll take care of me."  
"My sweet Louis, listen to me." Harry frames both sides of Louis' face, wanting those gorgeous crystals all to  
himself. "We will mate when I know we're both ready."

But then it hits him like an express freight train carrying the largest load of all. Maybe Harry doesn't want to  
mate with him anymore and after the winter the Dominus will drop him back at the school. He's certainly  
allowed to do that because he's young and below the average age of being able to mate. It breaks Louis' heart  
looking down at the most beautiful man to ever walk the Earth, knowing he just might not be good enough.  
Louis decides not to jump to conclusions and be unnecessarily insecure because that just might jeopardise  
what they have more than some illusion. "Okay."

It pleases Harry to hear this and he smiles before dotting a peck on Louis' forehead. The boy cuddles up to  
him, preparing to get a nap in before they have to eat again or check on the horses. Louis can't close his eyes  
for a long while and so he watches the fire burn, intimidating and influential. He thinks Harry is asleep after  
the Dominus stops rubbing his back but Harry is awake, watching Louis' doubts rob him of his sleep.  
He knows Louis is strong enough to handle them on his own, so he holds back from saying anything. Louis  
eventually sighs and forces his eyes to close, letting the burn beneath his eyelids disipitate before falling into  
a light slumber.

* * * * *

Louis is making pancakes in three T-shirts and a sweater piled on, his boxers covered with a pair of joggers  
and shoes as well as socks on his feet. Harry has to go outside today to finish the business of his training and  
his worried mate isn't too happy about it. Knowing that he can chew his lip off all he wanted, Louis sighed as  
he woke up that morning and decided to soak Harry in a hot bubble bath before letting him leave.

He plates five pancakes while they're warm and leaves a dollop of butter to melt over it, drizzling Harry's blue  
gum honey around the edges but deciding to carry the bottle up with him anyway. The water is boiled and  
Louis makes a steaming cup of the blackest coffee he can make without making Harry's insides feel like a  
brewery, putting it all on a tray before padding upstairs to join the Dominus.

Harry is mostly covered by the frothing bubbles of the claw-foot tub he's rarely used, his soapy arms draped  
over the edges on either side of him. The man looks up and smiles at the precious sight of a soft, sleepy Louis  
carrying his food with an equally fond grin. 

"Hi." Louis brought in a short stool from the bedroom and yawned, setting Harry's tray down on his lap where  
he sat immediately beside the Dominus.  
"Hello." Harry surprised them both by leaning over and planting a wet kiss to Louis' forehead, traces of water  
on his lips.

Cheeks reddening, Louis' lips twitch into something faintly resembling a blush. He tries to disregard it but  
physical contact with his Dominus always left him flustered.  
"You need to eat this." Louis clears his throat, getting straight down to business. "I still have to make the fryup but this is for now."  
"Haud mirum." Harry's chuckle is met with his damp hand latching onto Louis', almost crushing the boy's  
thinner fingers. "Why do you worry so much? I don't like seeing it."

Louis' eyes narrow at the Dominus' unappreciative attitude. "I care for you, Harry. This is my duty."  
Harry brings Louis' hands up to his lips and kisses it repeatedly. "I'm sorry, haud mirum. I know you care. I  
care about you as well, more than you could ever imagine."  
The Dominus in the room isn't allowed to leave the hot water while Louis hands him his food and tastes his  
coffee, fighting back the cold himself. It's awful and has a borderline bitter aftertaste, a bit of his tongue  
turned deep brown from the concentration.

"Would you like me to feed you?" Louis raises his eyebrow, amused at Harry trying to keep water out of his  
plate.  
They end up doing that as well, Louis getting up and sitting on the lip of the tub. He cuts Harry's pancakes up  
into reasonably sized portions and soaks each one in the honey or butter, pressing it to Harry's tongue  
whenever the Dominus opened his mouth.

"You are a dream." Harry rests his head on Louis' thigh, breathing in the calming scent of his only lover. Future  
lover. He doesn't care because Louis is his in every way.  
"I can't be." Louis cards his fingers through Harry's hair, holding the cup to Harry's lips at intervals and  
relaxing as much as the man did against each other. "I'm here. For you, I'm here."

Harry closes his eyes and welcomes the deep-rooted nature of those loving words, his one dry hand wrapping  
around Louis' thigh and his face burying itself in Louis' waist. He can't stop himself from snaking that arm  
around Louis' middle and holding him prisoner.

In that moment of letting Louis' essence soak into his pores and land like sultry silk over the icy nerves that lay  
beneath, Harry realises he's more than ready to mark this boy. There won't be a better time and waiting only  
disadvantages them. He can't teach Louis his ways as a wolf or mark him up every night from love-making.  
With those fantasies not so far away in the future, Harry nuzzles Louis' hip and growls. "I will mate you  
tonight."  
Louis falls into the water.

It's a shock that comes to them both in a sudden fit but Louis is sputtering and coughing so loudly that Harry's  
first priority becomes making sure the boy is alright. Complete disregard for his nude state, Harry scoops   
Louis up in his cradled arms and pulls him closer. He tilts Louis' head back and rubs his chest just in the little  
dip between the boy's pectorals, encouraging any other urgent reactions to be done with.  
Louis is soaking wet from his armpits going down, not shivering because the temperature of the water is still  
on a steady high. He stops sneezing and ends up with a red nose, puffy cheeks and slightly watery eyes. Harry  
finds him uncomprehensibly breathtaking.

"My sweet Louis." Harry's thumb brushes over Louis' cheek, the water sloshing up to his chin when Louis tries  
to keep his knees bent over the edge of the tub. "Are you okay?"  
"I'm f-fine." Louis is flame with the reminder that one of them is naked.  
He can't necessarily feel of the 'goods' that every Dominus is foretold to possess, but just being this close to  
Harry is still enough to make Louis shy.

"This affects you?" Harry is pushing a few of Louis' untamed strands of hair out of his eyes, taking his time to  
do so.

"N-N- I don't know." Louis shrugs, far from uncomfortable in how well the fabric of his clothing is drowning.  
"I usually avoid slang but-" Harry like a semi-evil pirate who seized the finest treasure, pulling Louis in fully  
after prying his little shoes off. "-you are adorable, haud mirum."

Louis bursts into giggles and folds his legs across Harry's lap with many a wave crashing between them. His  
Dominus is amused as well, dark eyes twinkling. "Were you serious about....mating?"  
"Yes." Harry sobers although he's still the most at peace as is possible for a troubled creature like himself. "It  
is up to you as well, haud mirum. Would you like to wait?"

"I don't." Louis shakes his head against his shoulder, afraid of extending himself beyond where he is confined  
now lest he encounter some private detail that it is too early for. "I want to be mated to you, even if it might  
hurt."  
"It will hurt." Says Harry, who is lightly peppering the side of Louis' face with kisses. "I will ease that pain as  
much as I can."  
Louis shudders at the thought of suffering from pain but he is willing to endure any misery for Harry. "Will you  
taste my blood?"

"I must." Harry leaves a lingering kiss on the spot he plans to mark, always pink from his reverent attention.  
"The bite must be deep enough."  
Nodding, the boy sinks his teeth into his lower lip as the nervousness begins to creep its way into his system.  
It is in hardly noticeable amounts for he is far more excited that afraid, eager to be part of the cycle that their  
lives will be dependant on together.

"Do you have um-...mating cycles?" Louis feels awkward to ask but how else will he get the answer on whether  
his mate will have to pin him down and have control of his body for weeks at a time?  
"Not that I know of." Harry chuckles, raspy and unique once again even in laughter. He dips his arms below  
water level to ensnare Louis' hips. "That was a myth made up about the wolves. I don't know why."   
"Oh." Louis mutters, trying to remember any other enquiries. Part of that ambition dies in its birth because  
he's pulled closer to Harry's chest where he may rest completely at ease.

"Do you know-" Harry turns his head and keeps his lips against Louis' cheek. "-making love between wolves  
was once a survival technique."

Louis goes hot and cold all over but the confusion boils over once he uncovers his deep red cheeks and  
suppressed smile. His eyes threaten to bulge out of their sockets. "How can it be?"  
"Simply."

Harry's fingertips are drumming against the waistband of Louis' joggers, the light grey now turned to black.  
The Dominus smirks at his mate's curiosity and when he glances at Louis, the boy looks away. With a sigh,  
Harry grabs hold of Louis' chin between his index and thumb. He brings the boy's attention back to him,  
needing to see those beautiful blue orbs and comprehend their feelings.

The Dominus feels numb staring down into their universes. "A dominant wolf gets his vitality from his mate  
while his mate gets a type of nutrition and strength from him. In this way, they need one another to survive."  
Louis circles his lips at this new information. Harry will get his vitality from him? That's like he's dictating  
Harry's youth and how long he lives. It's.....It's so intimate to know your existence is dependant on the one you  
love. Regular matings are never so in-depth nor committed.

"Wolves are passionate beasts." Harry explains with a soft expression on his features. He frames Louis' face  
and kisses his lips gently, languidly so he may taste the softest skin. "Are you afraid of mating now?"  
Instead of feeding that doubt, Louis stretches up and connects their lips for a moment longer. "You have only  
managed to make me more eager to be yours."

Harry's expression sobered and turned into something dark, thunderous. "You are mine. Even now, haud  
mirum."

"I know." Louis leaned into it when Harry circled the circumference of his neck, whining when the Dominus  
pressed down with his thumb. "I belong to you, the man who made me brave and happy."

* * * * *

As promised to him, Harry got his proper breakfast even though it was well past an hour where the wind  
pounded against the sides of their home and rattled the door to the horses' barn. Louis was preparing it over  
the stove with fresh clothing on and an especially warm sensation stagnant in his spine along with the caramel  
drip of Harry's effect on him.

Both were unmistakably pleasurable. He moved and felt the phantom of Harry's hand on his hip or his lips  
somewhere on his neck. Louis would smile knowing he's alone while Harry gets dressed upstairs for the day  
ahead.

He found the biggest plate Harry owned and covered it in scrambled eggs, beans, half a dozen crispy bacon  
strips, two stunted mutton sausages and three slices of buttered toast. Everything smelt divine along with  
Harry's proper cup of herbal tea with wisps of scented steam coming out past the rim.  
Louis himself would appreciate a slice of toast with maple syrup. He pops bread in the toaster and waits for it,  
letting his mind drift ashore to a world where Harry and he are mated.

Their lives will be tied up and knotted in more than one way. Harry will need Louis as much as Louis will need  
him, the strain on such a reliable relationship bound to be one that pushes them to their limits. The Dominus  
will be the dominant figure without a doubt and Louis looks forward to it, to being protected and cared for.  
He does worry over Harry taking on a true Dominus nature. That will turn him into a monster that everyone  
shall respect because he is Master.

Trainees only learn the ways of a true born Dominus on their last day, which is today for Harry. He will come to  
know about whether or not he wants to rule or be part of a ruling. Louis chews his lip raw and extracts the  
nearly burnt toast, praying he chooses the latter.

Heavy footsteps under the weight of paired boots cut off his thoughts and Louis grabs a saucer, using the  
butter knife to scrape the black crusts off his toast. Harry comes around the corner from the staircase and  
catches sight of his boy doing this, soundlessly rounding the counter to kiss Louis' neck.  
"Hi." Louis repeats his polite greeting, entertaining the alternate universe where they didn't see one another  
twenty minutes ago.

Harry's lips curl upward and his smile becomes dazzling from sombre. "Don't let yourself become bored with  
behaviour like this, haud mirum. When we're mated I will be much worse."  
Louis' blush gets a kiss too. "Talk is cheap, my love."

With one last peck from Louis to Harry's pectoral, the Dominus is ushered to a seat by the fire and handed his  
food. While Harry looks up at Louis with more longing than the boy can handle, the latter relents and brings  
his maple syrup toast to sit in Harry's lap.

"Are you warm?" Louis asks, two bites in and barely denting the golden toast.  
Harry simply adores how prosperously small everything about Louis is. "Plenty warm, haud mirum."  
Louis is pleased to hear it and continues to watch the fire as he chews and swallows. Harry's lap is a far better  
seat to have than a couch cushion, the Dominus is probably King but he's a throne to his mate.  
"That looks unsavoury." Harry's frown at Louis' breakfast causes his nose to scrunch up and for Louis to need  
to kiss it.

He doesn't but he does roll his eyes and break off a piece at the corner. "It's tasty."  
Harry gets a sample taste but he still dislikes the sugar overpowering the bread. He finishes his own meal  
feeling full of carbs and heated up from the inside to get this day over.  
"You take excellent care of me, haud mirum." Harry attacks Louis as soon as the latter is done eating,  
flattening him on the couch and nibbling on his mating spot.

"It's my duty, my love." Louis replies, trying to straighten them both so none of his food brings itself up again.  
"Not true." Harry withdraws and pushes his hair back, fingers stiffly raking through its length. "You had no  
obligation to take care of me or my home because we weren't mated."

"Too late now." Louis smiles. He was happy to do everything he did to maintain their little slice of Heaven.   
Louis' legs are slightly spread and he folds one in so that isn't so, stretching forward to meet Harry's lips with  
his own. It's an explosion of taste in that union and it is easy to tell that the Dominus is holding back from  
losing himself in the kiss. Louis parts his lips and Harry's tongue slips in without a moment of hesitation, a low  
moan leaving him as he marks the inside of Louis' mouth.

They kiss like that for however long it takes one of them to pull away, lack of oxygen making Louis dizzy. He  
pulls away with a small sound of separation and their foreheads are held together by Harry's hand on his  
cheek.  
"I am yours now. I will be yours when I return, haud mirum." Harry seems to sense that Louis is worried about  
what might happen today by the dimming of the usual light in his eye. "There is nothing they can say to make  
me hurt you."

A Dominus who turned to his true nature was dangerous even to his mate and Louis could shudder at the  
thought of such an animal returning to their bed every night.  
"Listen, haud mirum." Harry is just as desperate as Louis for confirmation, his eyes boring into Louis'. "Nothing  
can take you away from me. I won't do it. I won't choose to be a Master. You could reject me and I'd never live  
through that."

Louis choked on a lump in his throat and he held on to Harry's wrist, angling his head to kiss the palm of his  
hand. "Where would I go if you rejected me?"  
Harry makes a pained, depraved noise. He can't imagine a world without Louis to love and live for. His blood  
boils and thickens at the possibility of not having him.

"Rejecting you will have the same effect on me as you rejecting me." Harry's murmur is branded into Louis'  
skin, left to sizzle on the dip of his jaw. "It would end me."


	6. chapter six

Harry's been gone for a little over six hours and Louis has no idea what to expect when that door swings open,  
bangs against the wall and a trail of snow follows the Dominus in. He chews on his thumb nail whilst  
anticipating it, unable to concentrate longer than a second on a line from Heidi as selected from Harry's mini  
library.

The fire is just right in allowing him the allocation of heat Louis requires to keep from having his toes frozen  
off. He sits in the middle of the couch with one knee bent in the air, the threads of that joggers leg being  
picked at relentlessly. Louis has to distract himself from staring out the window at random intervals, marking  
beacons between how late it's becoming.

He decides on actually finishing a chapter of the classic novel he started before wrapping himself up in three  
of the quilts they have laid out downstairs, hoping to have a nap. The latter is a complete fail as he is left to  
stare blankly into the crackling, powerful orange flames of the fireplace.

His eyes close but they're too restless, along with all his limbs, to actually have some rest. Louis sighs in  
frustration at himself and huffs in the silence, rolling onto his front and smashing his face into the first pillow  
his hands grab. It turns out to be Harry's pillow because it's scented heavily with musky and vanilla, the two  
vital ingredients in all that the Dominus smells like. 

Louis relaxes at the phantom presence of his Dominus, his body sagging into the sofa cushions as he let's his  
mind fill with Harry's earthy appeal. It always calmed him right down but sent him skyrocketing towards a high  
at the same time. The excitement made him giddy and turn red in the face, secretly wanting to be caught  
cuddling Harry's pillow.

The door opens, completing the sequence of hitting the wall with the force exerted on it.

Everything that settles in and around Louis flies away from their peace, shot to Hell when the electricity shocks  
his nerves so they're alert once again. He stays frozen and staring at his reflection in the flames, mind racing.  
Heavy footsteps behind him echo through his sense of hearing and he pushes himself up to look over the back  
of the couch, the sheets he's covered in clutched to his chest.

"Harry?" He whispers below his regular volume, lips dry once again and eyes wide.

The hunched form of his Dominus is unmistakeable, except he's not turning away from the door handle which  
his hand was holding onto. Louis swallows thickly and shuffles a bit to sit up straighter. Harry's jacket is  
protecting him the freezing cold conditions and his skin where its sleeves ended looked particularly pale.

Louis can't take the silence, can't handle merely staring at the back of the man he loves while Harry's chest  
heaved and his eyes were obscenely blank. The boy hops off the couch and cautiously makes his way closer,  
shutting the door first because the toasty atmosphere of their abode was dropping dangerously.

"My love?" He takes one of Harry's hands in his, lacing his fingers through Harry's icicle appendages.

Looking up expectantly, Louis drops Harry's hood back down to his shoulders and studies the empty shade of  
green staring back at him. He's a little frightened by the lack of motion or forwardness, but tries not to  
verbalise that.

"Are you okay?" He brings Harry's hand to his back where the Dominus liked to hold at all times, letting the  
cold palm settle on his bare skin under his sweater.

He's slammed into the wall, the wind knocked out of him in an unpredictable gasp when his arched back hits  
the wall. Harry forcefully pulls him forward so their abdomens were lined up, flush against each other's. He  
swooped down and latched onto Louis' neck with ravenous lips and teeth, groaning loudly into the delectable  
skin as he tasted it.

"Oh- Harry." Louis had one free hand to get lost in Harry's hair, pulling his hair tie off and carding through the  
curls. He didn't expect it to happenthis fast.

Harry is making a series of noises from grunts to moans of pleasure, his face lodged in Louis' neck. He made  
that his home for the time it took to hoist Louis into the air, getting those warm thighs around his waist and  
pinning him to the wall.

Another part of Harry was in control when he spoke. "Will you have me?"

It was his more instinctive self that came with the territory of his inner wolf. Louis didn't ever imagine that  
having to answer such a question that he's been preparing for, would make him this breathless. He tightens  
his fingers in Harry's hair and presses their bodies so close that everything was touching, allowing the  
Dominus more access to the flesh on his neck. Harry was well and truly an animal in the way he gnawed on  
Louis' skin, vicious when he's usually collected and desperately holding onto the wall so he could display  
dominance. 

"Yes-Yes." Louis rushed to say, after which Harry was already making a trip towards the staircase. "It's cold  
upstairs, my love."

Harry acknowledges him with a squeeze to the cheek his large hands are cupping, fuelling the flames in Louis'  
cheeks. "The only warmth we will need I will give to you and will have from you."

The words in response make Louis shiver and for his head to feel lighter, nervous energy burning up with  
anticipation. He's never been with someone and now, looking into Harry's crystalline glowing emeralds, he  
knows that he wants Harry to own that part of him more than anything.

* * * * *

Harry raked his nails down Louis' sides with his face buried in the boy's front, wanting to press into the soft  
skin until it hurt for both of them. He left red streaks on the supple surface layer on Louis' waist, grumbling  
nonsensical words into Louis' navel. He dipped his tongue into it and Louis shivered noticeably, fingers  
gripping his Dominus' hair.

Louis felt like he was on fire, being this bare and vulnerable to this one person who promises to protect and  
love him forever. The thought of their future, of their wild present has Louis inflating between his legs but not  
beyond his raw desire to spread his legs even further for Harry.

The Dominus had unstrapped his prosthetic limb and let it lie discarded on the ground so that he had his  
focus solely trained on his boy.

Coming up to Louis' level, Harry looks like a mentally crippled Alpha male. He growls when Louis shifts even  
the slightest to bring space between them and digs the heel of his palm into Louis' extremely lower abdomen.  
The younger male howled from the merciless ache it created and whimpered with Harry's teeth caught the lobe  
of his ear.

"You will feel me right here, haud mirum." Harry said it like a mantra, like a deep-seeded prayer in a voice  
that's hardly even his.

Louis' whole person jerked with the promise, his calm uprooted as he is reminded by Harry telling him how  
passionate wolves are. It's easy to guarantee with the way Harry's wolf is keeping him from parting with Louis'  
body that's bare and open just for him. Harry's chest is alive with warm groans and moans, rubbing his hands  
up and down the body of his sweet little lover.

He wants to be tied to Louis forever, sliding his hands down beneath Louis' body to lift him up. His skin slides  
against Louis' and his lips drag across the boy's clavicle to pick up the taste of his dampened skin. The cold of  
the night that was meant to nearly cripple them was batted off and berated by their connection, the heat of  
one another earthing and splitting so they were one unit.

"You have to talk to me, little one." Harry's brow was creased in the struggle to to keep himself in control. He  
wanted to pry Louis' legs apart and bury himself inside the boy's warmth, his beauty to be rubbed off on him  
as well.

Louis is breathless when his wide-blown cerulean eyes find themselves burrowed into Harry's sparkling  
forestry orbs. He can only whine and raise his hips to say that he's ready and he's at Harry's mercy.  
"Tell me when you want me to stop." Harry's words are branded like ice onto Louis' chest, moving inches  
closer to Louis' puckered nipple. "Tell me where you want me." 

Hands at Harry's shoulder and bicep, Louis' jaw falls open and the Dominus circles his nipple with wet lips.  
Suckling noises fill the air as Harry slots himself between Louis' legs, the painful bulge he's sporting inside his  
underwear is straining against Louis' own arousal. Louis loves the sensation of Harry tweaking his pink  
nipples, teasing them with nimble fingers and pinches of his nails.

The pain was extraordinary and Louis held Harry to him, wrapped around him so tightly and securely that the  
Dominus faltered in his hold. Harry's body crashed down on his and Louis' mewl was embraced by Harry's  
tongue flicking over the swollen nub he was feeding on.

"You taste like my dream, haud mirum." Harry opens his mouth and sinks his teeth into Louis' throat where the  
boy's most sensitive spot lay.

He took the squirming and whimpers of his mate by holding him down, hands around Louis' bare thighs and  
upper half weighing on Louis'. Touching this beautiful wonder with naked hands on naked skin, is everything  
he'd hoped for come true. They've waited much too long and here they are, letting the best of one another lay  
open to the other.

"H-Harry." Louis choked, swallowing and feeling Harry's sharp teeth against his jugular. "I-I don't want to-"  
"I know, my little love. I know." Harry withdrew and once more brings himself down past Louis' front.

He places desperate kisses along his path, tongue poking out to leave a wet path everywhere he moved. The  
universe made him feel like every deed committed prior to this moment was in a build-up to what would be  
happening now. Every stitch of intention and sliver of hope was meant for this, for him to raise his head with  
dishevelled hair and wild eyes to look right at the boy who claimed most of his soul upon first glance.  
Harry looked down at what was all his for the taking, licking his lips and tasting Louis as he devoured the sight  
before him. Louis' skin was flushed and his abdomen clenched with need, with unspoken want. The Dominus  
circled Louis' thighs and held them apart, making vulnerable what region of the boy was always guarded.  
Every movement he made was hindered by his lack of one complete leg and it was only slightly evident in the  
extra time Harry took to settle or steady himself. Louis found the valiant efforts behind every movement far  
more worthy because of it.

"M-My love." Louis choked on the air he couldn't inhale, fingers scraping the man's scalp as he desperately  
fought to bring him closer.

He never imagined a time in his life where he'd be this eager to be connected with anyone yet here he is ready  
to eat those words. Louis didn't like that Harry was on his knees between his legs doing nothing, skin raw with  
anxiety and the message of his greedy brain travelling to every crevice.

Harry snapped his fingers and Louis found himself paying attention, silencing every protest he had to listen  
with a keen. The Dominus smirked down at him in pride, sharing that with Louis in a tender kiss that deepens  
once their lips unite. Harry rounds his hips against Louis' and groans, digging his fists into the sheets and  
moving quicker.

"Do you feel good, haud mirum?" Harry whispers in Louis' ear, one hand cupping the boy's cheek before  
gliding down the curved form of his body to grope his pert behind. "Do I make you feel good?"  
Louis is nodding vigorously, already high off the drug Harry is administering by merely gripping him where  
nobody's touched him before. No other soul has wanted to be interlocked with his this way and already Louis  
can feel his mind concentrating on fusing with Harry's, the Dominus' constant hold on him ushering the edge  
on.

Unable to help himself, Louis found Harry's wrist where it rested on his lower back and held onto it with all his  
might. He guided that hand in its kneading and massaging motions over his bum, moaning loudly into Harry's  
mouth as he tasted the man in his throat. Harry had a forearm on the side of Louis' head, obeying when Louis  
made him tighten his grip or hasten his hips.

The time came to be completely bare for one another and Louis had to hold his breath while Harry curled his  
fingers over the waistband of his underwear. The elasticated material easily picked up to be replaced by the  
Dominus' gentle touch caressing the faint red marks left behind. Louis stretched upward to unite their swollen  
lips in a sloppy kiss for their record, Harry's instincts leading to him massaging the wet muscle of Louis'  
tongue with his own. Every sound either made was drowned out by the way their bodies were all-consuming.  
Louis watches with wide eyes of trepidation as Harry drew the fabric of his boxers down his legs, peppering  
firm kisses down the path he went to Louis' dainty ankles. He met the boy's eye and pulled him up into a  
seated position for a heated kiss that left Louis breathless, mentally scattered with his teeth not releasing  
Harry's bottom lip.

"Haud mirum." Harry's brow was furrowed in explicit concentration, getting his own back and surrendering  
himself once again to Louis who held onto both sides of his face with his cautious hands.

Gingerly, Louis let whatever was arising within him to control his actions as he ran his his hands down Harry's  
back to the forbidden territory below his waist. His mouth opened up for Harry's tongue to tease and torment  
the confines of, whilst he pushed away the hindrance that was Harry's underwear. His hands skimmed over the  
milky planes of skin and squeezed lightly the point of the Dominus that would bring his lower half closer to  
him.

Starved lips were at Louis' neck, vibrations pressing into his narrow chest via Harry's skin on his. Louis held  
onto the Dominus' sides and bent his knees in the air, ardent desperation working to always have his lips on  
some part of Harry.

Harry felt Louis' soft, delicate skin grinding against his and knew his inner wolf was surfacing with the desire  
he felt unravel. He released Louis' body and pulled away from his lips with a wet sound of disconnection,  
hurriedly moving down lower to hike the boy's thighs up on his shoulders.

Louis was open where he never was before and his small fists were holding onto the cold wood of the  
headboard. He mewled and bit his lip, curling his toes as Harry leaned forward to lick the red skin above his  
hole. Louis tore himself apart with the intimacy causing his enthusiasm to sky-rocket.

Harry couldn't believe it. He had to trace his index over the puckered rim of Louis' entrance and apply a bit of  
pressure with his knuckle. Louis was completely untouched here and the Dominus was the honoured man who  
got to change that. He admired Louis' innocence and beauty for a moment longer, drinking in the sight of his  
lover spread eagle and sweaty.

Louis gasped breathlessly when Harry growled whilst pressed right against him, leading to something hot and  
clenching to tighten in the pit of his tummy. He's never felt this amazing before and it didn't look to be  
wearing off soon, as he hoped it wouldn't. Harry pressed his fingertips into where thigh met pelvis and  
wrapped his wet lips around Louis' rim to taste even more.

It was maddening the first hints of the taste right before Louis' essence exploded in his mouth. His tongue  
flicked out past his lips where it pressed flatly onto the wrinkled, sweet skin. He felt something animalistic  
within him causing his blood to boil, his greed to extend itself. Harry's chest rumbled as he rubbed Louis' soft  
thighs on either side of his head, licking hungrily into the boy's body.

Louis arched up off the bed and screamed from all the sensations running free throughout his crumpled  
system. He felt the ache in the depths of his gut begin to cut him raw, the heavy length dribble salty precome  
on his tummy turning to painful. His fingers tightened in the sheets and Harry became more urgent, tongue  
prodding more fervently at his hole and Louis never imagined it would feel this good.

It was like the most exquisite, most expensive drug was lacing the inside walls of his veins. It all drove him  
mad as he threw his head back and silently screamed to the ceiling, thrashing about from Harry's arousing  
ministrations on him. The Dominus looked sinful, forbidden from what he's allowed to have when a pair of  
transfixed emerald green eyes connected with his. Half his face was hidden by Louis' quivering body, the  
determination in those eyes making Louis feel like the prey to the most beautiful predator on Earth.  
When he couldn't take it anymore and the wetness between his cheeks was satisfactory, Louis cried out as he  
fisted the pillow and was flipped over. It wasn't hard to tell Harry was fighting an inner battle when he tried to  
be forceful but gentle in turning him over, running his calloused palms up Louis' back to his shoulders and  
back to the globes of his behind.

Louis heard the blood singing and soaring in his ears, the pressure too great as Harry pressed down on his  
back and he had too much friction on his inferior erection. He came without warning but loudly shouting into  
the cushion he bit into, scratching the sheets when Harry covered his hands and entire body with his own.  
"I'm about to make you mine." Harry's voice has turned husky and he breathed harshly down the back of Louis'  
neck, sharp teeth scraping the boy's skin. "Your mind, body and soul will be mine."

No words could be formulated as Louis released a high-pitched sound from his throat, only able to spread his  
legs further and let Harry's long fingers seek out what they wanted. Roughly, he was inspected before Harry's  
teeth sunk into his throat without marking him and a finger entered him. Louis would have jolted violently had  
Harry not pinned him down so securely, jaw slackened numbly and eyes screwed shut as the pleasure burned  
through him like wildfire.

Harry waited before moving that finger, pumping it slowly with the slick sound of saliva. He let it run dry  
before pulling out and sucking on two of his fingers. Louis could see it all and it was obscene enough for him  
to lose his mind to it, bending his knees to leave himself open even more. He made his lip bleed, the metallic  
taste of blood filling his mouth as Harry slipped those fingers into him.

They rubbed against his walls and lubed up his tunnel for what was to come, scissoring against his most  
sensitive spot to make him cry out. Harry continually jabbed at Louis' prostate to make him harden again,  
licking and nibbling on the skin of his neck simultaneously.  
"My knot will be here." Harry turned his head and pressed kisses to Louis' cheek, teeth dragging over his jaw.  
"I'll split you open and fill you up. You're mine, haud mirum."

Louis whimpered at the mental imagery and the vow of Harry's statements, wanting it all more than he wanted  
to breathe again. He was switched back to stare up at the ceiling before meeting Harry's lustful stare, dark and  
full of indecipherable glints. Louis wrapped his arms around Harry's neck and welcomed the Dominus between  
his legs, immediately his thighs pried to their widest open angle and something promising pressing into him.  
Harry could never possibly find a better description of what it was like to border on entering Louis before he  
actually did. It was like he got his chip of Heaven finally and the angel who brought it to him lay beneath his  
protective body. The Dominus' mind ran wild with his inner Alpha wolf that was lost to the lust and cravings as  
it howled from everything crashing down on him. 

Louis was the most pleasant feeling to be a part of, his body tight and hot from the start. A petite form he had  
with virgin skin and it was easy to complement with Harry running off the steam from his primal hindbrain  
commanding everything he did.

"Oh- Harry." Tears pricked to the corners of Louis' eyes and he whined, fearing the stretch that Harry's tip was  
causing as it deepened.  
"Shh. It will get better." Harry kissed all over Louis' face and his lips, licking into his mouth for more of his  
taste as his wolf needed it to be sated.

Harry pushed in more and his length was massive enough, swollen to near painful for the Dominus, that Louis  
felt every ridge or throbbing vein finding a home in him. He raked his nails down Harry's back to leave angry  
red welts behind, his body feeling fuller than it could handle.

The Dominus kissed Louis' neck and clavicle in worship, thumbs rubbing soothing circles into his inner thighs.  
He didn't stop, couldn't possibly think of it, until he was hilt deep inside his sweetheart. Louis had tears  
spilling over his cheeks and darkening the pillow, the stretch too great for him.  
"I can't pull out, haud mirum." Harry' lust-induced haze cleared enough for him to be worried about his mate's  
condition.

He was so sensitive that he could feel Louis' walls throbbing and clenching around him, swollen from being  
forced to accommodate such a wide girth for a first time. Harry's never felt a greater or more intense pleasure,  
burying his face in Louis' neck and not moving more than to grip the headboard.

"It-It hurts." Louis sobbed unintentionally, hands gripping Harry's sides as he wanted the Dominus close even  
when that's the source of his misery.

"It must, haud mirum." Harry pecked Louis' lips and wiped his tears away, tasting the saltiness. Those  
enchanting blue eyes were even darker, even deeper in their immense beauty. "Do you remember what I told  
you about what our mating would be like?"

Louis sniffled and nodded, holding onto Harry's wrists to anchor himself. He trusted the Dominus more than  
anything, only ever needing approval and love from this one person to be complete. Wary blue eyes connect  
with deep green and Harry presses their foreheads together, the physical union between them too sacred to  
sacrifice.

Harry's hands encircled Louis' thighs with a stretch, hiking them up suddenly to rest atop his own. This way he  
was as deep as possible inside his lovely mate, letting him experience the worst of it before it got better. He  
could sense how sore Louis was becoming by the rhythmic clenching around his developing knot, groaning in  
synchronisation with the boy's quiet pants.

"I love you, haud mirum." Harry kissed Louis' temples and held onto the headboard with both hands as a kind  
of anchor to ground himself.

Louis whined from just hearing the proclamation. "I-I love you. My love, you are my everything."  
Harry growled possessively and swooped down to press his lips to Louis', both lips sandwiching the latter's  
lower one as he sucked on the thin pink cushion until it fattened up in swelling. All the sins of pleasure being  
conducted on Louis' naïve body led to his orgasm pending very near, the dampness from his first squelching  
between them. 

There was nothing more sensational the way it was to be this close to the one a Dominus loved. Harry was  
proof of that in the way he was so out of control, prisoner to whatever Louis offered him with both hands.  
"Now, haud mirum? Are you ready?" Harry's breath mingled with Louis' and his lips brushed the boy's with  
every word after they pulled away, hands tightening around the rods of the headboard.

Louis nodded because he was and he was going to explode if the prickle of electricity on his skin wasn't fed  
with some sort of activity. He dug his nails into Harry's shoulderblades where the muscle rippled and flexed  
under his palms, the Dominus moaning brokenly as he shifted his hips.

Harry didn't want to do this haphazardly and Louis felt so amazing that he can't possibly deny this boy the full  
display of pleasure. He pushed himself a little lower and dropped his hands to the bed, tearing through the  
sheets with gritted teeth as he slammed back into Louis. His mate's bones rattled with the impact of his thrust  
and Louis cried out from the throb it had caused, getting a taste of what will blow his mind.

He did again, allowing Louis a small breather when he retracted his c*ck from Louis' stretched tunnel. The  
Dominus found too much comfort in it to be away from its clutches for long, thrusting back in as quickly as he  
could without injuring either one of them. Louis' head rolled back as his body responded with broken noises,  
mewls becoming whines.

Harry brought one hand up to the back of Louis' neck, rung up and drawn apart by the feelings of intensity  
making his core toasty warm with the essence of his little mate. He kissed and sucked on Louis' throat,  
securing himself on the bed so he could thrust slowly as they made love. Louis' hands were on his back and  
shoulders, eliminating all the space.

Their proximity was so close, so magnificently sweet yet bitter in a twist that they savoured, that Harry's wolf  
was drunk off it. Louis opened his eyes to meet the eyes of his better half, mouth frozen in a scream even  
when Harry sealed their lips together.

Although he had blunt and ineffective nails, Harry's strength was immense when it ripped the makings of their  
bed. The sound of fabric being torn and shredded

The Dominus grunted into Louis' clammy chest as he suckled on the tight pink nipples presented to him. Louis  
knotted his fingers through Harry's hair and paid all his mind to the intrusion between his thighs, breathless  
and blissful from this form of love. He was empty of thoughts except Harry and the pulsating heated skin of  
his c*ck laying a deep claim in his most private parts.

Harry pulled himself back up and reached out for the headboard, sensing his loss of the reins over his  
pleasure. His wolf was dominant and Louis could see it, witnessing the blackening of his eyes until no green  
was ever visible. He wasn't frightened by the rough, raspy sounds his Dominus made into his neck. It made  
him braver, prouder.

He had to go slow even if he wanted to hold Louis' perfect hips and pound into him with ferocity that broke  
him. Harry was pained in this struggle to keep himself in control but Louis didn't appreciate it. The rhythm of  
their bodies moving together on the creaking bed was becoming quicker, more desperate.

The headboard structure banged into the wall and let the noises echo off the walls, Harry's body bucking  
feverishly into Louis' so powerfully. Louis felt the pivoting of his Dominus' hips slamming into his pelvic bone  
without delicacy, causing the skin to sting. The aggravated length inside him was burrowed so deep that it  
uncovered a spot past his depths and folds to render profound pleasure.

Continually and maddeningly, the tip of Harry's c*ck plowed into the boy's body as he was held apart by two  
undeniably strong arms. It made a wave of intense satisfaction to crash over him, loosen his worries and let  
him surrender. Harry was fighting something as he growled with near sparkling eyes and the panels of the  
headboard cracked with the force he exerted on it.  
"M-My love." Louis gasped to the night sky, shrieking right after when he was fucked into a little less carefully.  
"M-Move fa-faster."

Harry's body cloaked his, held his thighs open and pivoted without a rhythm as it thrusted into the tight, wet  
condition of Louis' welcome. He was breathing and absorbing the drug, shaking his head even when it  
threatened to make him obey.

"Don't tell me that." He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, hips moving with merciless notion.  
Louis need not say anything else for Harry did as asked even with his slight protest. The Dominus had  
weakened the structure of the bed so much that it shook unsteadily. His hands gripped Louis' thighs, hitching  
them up on his waist and connecting their lips to pound into the boy's wonderful body.

Harry can't point out a single thing he did to deserve such pleasure. He howled in a cracking voice and Louis  
held onto the shredded sheets with smaller hands, succumbing the brutality of Harry's treatment. It felt like  
fire and it felt like ice, mixing in the pit of his stomach. Harry's fingers pressed into the flesh of Louis' bum,  
pulling it up into the air as the boy arched his back and his muscles tightened with something great creeping  
closer.

Thrust after thrust, Louis was inches closer to pulling on his own hair because nothing should be this  
amazing. He screamed when Harry held him down, moving his hips in precision to aim for that special spot  
inside him. It was swollen and throbbing by now, sore like the rest of him. Harry was clawing at anything he  
touched and that included the flat frame of the headboard, creating a sickly grating noise with his nails  
dragging down the aged wood.

"Fu- Yes." The base of Harry's length was fattening up to the stage of his knot. It was uncomfortable by the  
way his ethereal visage twisted in agony before smoothing out in the promise of having that locked inside  
Louis.

Before a mistake could be made, Louis brought Harry's mouth to his neck and winced at the bite he got first. It  
did nothing for his naked and needy skin so he waited with a hand buried in Harry's sweaty curls, tightening  
when the jaws separated against him. He was jerked up the bed with each thrust and had Harry to hold onto or  
hurt himself on the wall, the appendage buried inside him not easing up. Harry was a major part of his wolf in  
the way he made animalistic noises with a gruff voice, fucking thoroughly and brutally into what was open just  
for him.

Louis' breath caught in his throat when Harry's knot started to catch on his rim, his body unable to stretch  
further so he had to face the burn. He choked on nothing when Harry whispered a warning in his ear.  
"Now you're mine, haud mirum." And he settled his teeth over the point he will bite.

Two seconds passed before Louis' hands found purchase on Harry's lower back, a keen coming from him when  
something expanded inside him and Harry stopped thrusting with a stutter of his hips. A long drawl of a howl  
leaves the Dominus, lighting Louis' skin up from within with the flood of warmth within him. As it dripped and  
seeped into him, Louis bled from his throat where Harry bit down.

His canines found steady ground and dug into the thin skin, two droplets of crimson flowing out before the  
blunt molars followed and tore past the restricting layer. He had to be deep enough for the bond to be  
extremely tender tomorrow and for it to heal over into a mark he'd be proud of. Without precaution, he kept  
his teeth locked onto Louis' pierced skin until he could taste enough blood in his mouth and Louis was all but  
pushing him away, the pain too great.

Neither of them expected it but the point of their sacred bed where their heads lay rattled shakily before a  
loud crack fell into the night air and the legs broke off. The bed fell backward in a slant and Louis shrieked  
from all the weight on him, Harry only able to help by hauling him up into a diagonal stretch across the  
mattress.

Satisfied with what he'd left behind, Harry pulled off and dragged his tongue over the bleeding indents to seal  
it. Louis sagged in content and had come a second time somewhere amidst the storm of pleasure circling his  
head, his tummy with splattered white traces and his length a permanent semi-hard as it would remain until  
Harry's knot went down. Deep, deep inside the Dominus was filling him up with his seed so that Louis' scent  
was altered with his and his claim was complete.

"Haud mirum." Harry dropped himself down to his elbows, brushing stray strands of hair away from Louis'  
eyes. His boy's eyes were so bright, so energetic. "How do you feel?"

Louis swallowed the mixture of tastes in his mouth and parted his lips to speak, feeling more awake and less  
tired. He looked into Harry's eyes a little afraid. "I-I feel...alive."

Harry's worry ended at that and he nuzzled Louis' neck away from the visually unpleasant spot of his bite. He  
smiled brightly and kissed the boy's skin where he could. "That's perfect, haud mirum."

"It is?" Louis still felt hot even where they weren't connected and tried not to move, feeling every twitch or  
squirm affect the joint portion. He felt Harry's sated wolf withdraw and leave the green back to reside in his  
eyes.

"Yes." Harry leaned down and bumped their noses together, kissing him gently once again. He concentrated on  
feeling where his knot pumped loads of himself into his petite other half, his world tilted on its axis to face  
and equal to Louis. "As I get strength from you, you will inherit energy from me."

"Oh." Louis remembers their talk about mating yesterday and blinked away from the white spots in his vision,  
whining when Harry pulls him up into a seated position. He giggles.  
"What is amusing you, haud mirum?" Harry's knuckles caressed Louis' cheekbone, trailing down his front to  
thumb over his left nipple.

It surprises Louis that he doesn't shy away from his Dominus' hand. "We broke the bed."  
Harry chuckles as well at realising that, studying the angled position of their forfeited bed. He held Louis up  
on the slightly raised portion where it was least uncomfortable for the boy, hiding his face in Louis' neck. "I  
ought to have warned you about how out of control we tend to be."  
"It's okay." Louis twirls a lock of Harry's hair around his finger, biting his lip or flinching whenever the knot  
inside him shifted. "I liked it."

"Did you?" Harry raises an eyebrow to tease him, hands on the precious cargo of Louis' behind.  
Louis giggles loudly and locks his arms around Harry's neck, embracing the Dominus as he lined himself up  
with the man. Harry breathed in deep the altered scent of his mate.

"Did I hurt you at all, haud mirum?" He asks, scared of the answer. 

"No." Louis opened his eyes and stared down the length of Harry's back, tracing the curves and dents of  
muscle with his fingers. "The bed might beg to differ."  
Harry laughed at him and found no shame - they were mates now - in lightly spanking Louis. "There is no  
doubt about just how energetic you are."

Louis sniffled and continued scratching the base of Harry's hairline, enjoying the short groans he'd get from  
the Dominus. He didn't dare move his legs although he wanted to, hissing when Harry's warmth landed on his  
prostate as it slipped out of him.

"Talk to me." Harry brought one knee up to beside Louis, bent in the air against the boy's waist with his leg  
over Harry's hip. The amputated leg rested jobless at Louis' other side. "How does it feel?"  
It felt so good that Louis couldn't form the proper words to do it any justice. He might only ever be able to  
offer up his neck in submission and whimper.

"The bond, sweetheart." Harry presses a delicate kiss to his mark left on Louis' skin, still crusty from drying  
blood and damp with it. "Feels powerful, doesn't it?"  
Louis preens, his forehead resting on Harry's with their eyes open and pinning the other's. "It feels like every  
fibre of myself belongs to you, my love."  
Harry groans from hearing the words alone. He brought his hand up to the back of Louis' neck, keeping his  
fingers around the golden tan column. "The feeling is returned with no less intent. I am yours for today,  
tomorrow and every day to follow."

For an hour they sat up talking about little things and sometimes nothing, connected for the time it took  
Harry's knot to climax before softening. It was a late hour when that happened but Harry didn't care much for  
pulling out so he stayed inside his mate, tucking the boy in under his chin for warmth.

"Don't I have to clean up?" Louis had Harry's fingers laced through his, held to his chest over his heart.  
"No, haud mirum." Harry had his eyes closed and lips below Louis' ear. "Nothing of mine will leak from you."  
Louis knows by now that Harry is suspiciously trying to keep himself inside him when there was no need. He  
couldn't protest when it added feelings of security to his own senses.

"Your body will crave everything I give you." Harry pushed Louis' legs open with his fully able one, wrapping  
his arm around Louis' waist. He spoke into his ear, smirking when the boy shivered. "It will refuse to give  
anything up."

"O-Oh." Louis' head was cradled by his favourite pillow of Harry's, grinning unabashedly when the Dominus  
sought out his lips.

"Haud mirum, won't you kiss me?" Harry caught the side of Louis' face and turned him around, briefly  
connecting their lips in a sweet kiss that left its spark lingering on Louis' lips. His smiled was pressed against  
Louis' lips, slightly hindering their kiss as he felt giddy and warm inside. "Thank you."  
"For kissing you?" Louis' hip was secured firmly so he couldn't turn around, just lie on his side with Harry  
curled around him.

"For the kiss-" Harry squeezed his waist. "-and much more, haud mirum."  
Louis pecked Harry's jaw and hung on for a bit. "Thank you for taking me with you that night."

* * * * *

There was no sunlight by morning and no birds sang outside, the harsh wind whipping around their tiny  
cottage vengefully as it rendered the coldest winter this mountain peak will ever experience. The chill settled  
into the bones of their home and wrapped around everything inanimate except the bed they lay on nestled  
together.

Harry awoke before Louis did, the only light allowed to him came from the window and it was so dim indoors  
that only the outline of his sleeping mate's form was visible. He took some time after kissing Louis' shoulder  
and healing bond mark, to note the damage done the night before.

Their bed was still slanted and hazardous, the top half knocked off its legs and on impact with the floor. It was  
a close degree of inclination that almost had them continually sliding off their perches. The headboard was all  
but deteriorated with lengthy scratches down the front, chipped and cracked wood making the whole thing a  
broken complete. Their mattress had dipped where all the weight lay last night, the sheets that once covered  
them lay scattered and ripped apart. All this damage to everything around them and Louis lay peacefully  
asleep, not more marks on him than necessary.

He let Louis sleep for a moment or two longer, not wanting to disturb the perfect art of tranquillity that rested  
all the boy's features but the Dominus hasn't eaten at all and didn't want to make something downstairs away  
from his lover. A newly bonded pair always needed each other physically and if Harry was away from Louis  
before they'd settled into the courtship, damage could be done.

Harry's hands wandered over Louis' skin. His chest where it rose and fell from sleep, his tummy that had a  
delicious little pudge. The Dominus grazed the hairless tops of Louis' thighs and found that his heart picked  
up the pace when he got to the glorious perkiness of Louis' bum. He felt like a demon touching these regions  
of his lover in sleep but the bond he branded into Louis' skin the night before reassured him.

Something stirred in Harry's chest and it was his inner wolf peering out through his eyes onto the beautiful  
body of his mate. Harry listened to the voice in his head and was soon rolling over to weigh down on Louis'  
back harmlessly. He was a newly mated wolf and the taste he got last night of what pleasure he could have  
wasn't enough now.

He strained his arms and pushed himself up, finding some sense of gravity with the blood flowing away from  
his brain to the swelling between his legs. Manoeuvring down the length of Louis' body was easy and he was  
soon resting on the actual slant of the bed that could be detrimental if Louis decided to wake up and fall. That  
didn't matter now for Harry made sure Louis was properly insulated before rounding the curve of his behind  
and prying the cheeks apart. He growled at the scent of his mate, soft and arousing to him even in sleep.  
Louis was a little open from last night, his rim moist and swollen with tiny slits from where the skin tore. It  
was such a sight for the Dominus to behold, the effects of their first night together as mates making his chest  
constrict. He teased the puckered ring of tight muscle with his thumbs, applying some pressure to it before it  
gave way. Unable to hold back, Harry moaned when Louis' body accepted the appendage and clamped down  
on it once inside.

He had a little experiment to conduct. A wolf's mate had the miraculous and sudden trait of slick dripping out  
of them after their first mating so that the pain and discomfort of a knot against dry walls were avoided. Harry  
licked his lips and dove right in, hoping to provoke the slick supply even whilst Louis was asleep. The boy that  
lay beneath him mumbled something incoherent and shifted, almost as if he knew what Harry was doing and  
in his sleep tried to aid him. 

Louis was being roused from his sleep and Harry couldn't have that so he hastily clambered up to his level and  
rubbed circles into the boy's back. He kissed all over Louis' bond mark and hoped it was enough. A deity  
above decided to smile down at him and Harry heard Louis' breathing return to their dozing pattern.

He kissed a path down to where on Louis' divine body he was last acting, muffling the strangled echoes of his  
groans with nibbling on the skin exposed to his teeth. Like divine intervention, Harry graced Louis' hips and  
thighs with slow rubbing and pinching that asserted his presence and claim here.

Harry worshipped the skin around Louis' hole, his fingers holding that area open for his praise. He bit around  
it and felt moisture dab his chin as he moved. The excitement built and brewed in the pit of his stomach as he  
knew the slick was close to leaking. With more determined a nature, Harry licked a stripe over Louis' perineum  
and savoured the taste that latched onto his tongue. He prodded at Louis' hole with the stiffened tip of his  
tongue, curious and intrigued by lust.

The Dominus fought to suppress his urges because he wasn't going to take apart his mate until he was bare at  
the seams and bury himself in the warmth and innocence of someone made just for him. He sucked in a sharp  
breath just thinking about it, wanting it so badly that he had to physically clench his fists at Louis' sides and  
nuzzle the flesh down to where it was quickly moistening.

He extends his tongue and laps at the dampness, the scent and taste of such sweetness remains muted but  
heavenly after only being generated this one time. Harry parts his lips and presses his tongue down over Louis'  
puckered hole, worsening the pressure until the tip slips in and he can wiggle the muscle around for room to  
lick at the newly formed glands creating the slick.

Louis was close to awakening fully, restless in his slumber as he squirmed under Harry's tongue and  
involuntarily rolled his hips back. Harry caught him by his sides and held him down to the noisy mattress,  
hungrily exploring the confines of his mate. He moaned and the vibrations travelled up Louis' spine, causing  
his own length to twitch and for his fingers to curl tightly.

Harry's nails bite into Louis' cheeks as his teeth sink into the taut skin around his hole, keeping his mouth  
open to deposit every bit of slick the Dominus can earn. Louis' eyelids flutter into consciousness and he  
watches the snow blowing around outside before a tongue is unleashed on his arse and he chokes on a  
pleasured sob.

It felt mind-blowing and exquisite to have Harry's mouth on him down there, his keens and whines not  
unheard by the Dominus. Harry released Louis' flushed bum and raised his head, the lower half drenched in  
spit and slick, for his mate to comprehend drowsily. Louis brought himself closer for the benefit of Harry, their  
lips meeting in the middle and he tasted himself on Harry's tongue, his mysterious slick transferred from the  
Dominus to him.

Louis pulled his lips away and Harry's wolf made a depraved sound from his throat, lips plump and drawn  
together in an unintentional pout. His mate was sympathetic and kissed Harry's lips once more with a smile  
while the man lay there above him silent.

"What's wrong?" Louis' thumb swiped over the wetness surrounding Harry's mouth, cleaning up the mess made  
by Harry's excitement over his slick.

Harry growled because clearly, Louis was aiming to be a tease. The Dominus rolled his hips into Louis' behind,  
bulge prominent, and let that growl fade with a nip to their fresh but extremely tender bond mark.  
"My love." Louis combed Harry's hair back and caught his breath when the Dominus roughly found solace in  
his neck. 

Louis could himself pick up that whatever Harry had been up to left him equally aroused and wanting, his  
rumbling libido wide awake and shuddering against his insides. Between his cheeks was the slide of a definite  
wet patch and Louis was flushed from his shoulders to his belly button.

"Lay down." Harry encouraged, nudging Louis onto his back so he was a soft sight for sore eyes, spread out on  
his front with sheets surrounding him. The marks on his skin were faint and fading, just tiny reminders of  
their love. "I want to take you again."

With a preen, Louis arched his back and propped himself up on his elbows to look over his shoulder. Harry  
was nearly invisible yet his body that was grinding enthusiastically against Louis' became undeniably plagued  
with desperation. He allowed himself a longer amount of time taken to enjoy the rare taste of Louis' slick, then  
forcing himself upright to hover over Louis like a magnet drawn to his beauty.

Harry took Louis' hands in his own, wrapping his fingers around the boy's knuckles as he brought him over to  
loom above his form. Back to chest and Harry's heartbeat thumping against Louis' scapulla as he pressed his  
open mouth to the back of his neck, sinking down to seal himself around Louis as tightly as possible.  
A small noise between a grunt and muffled growl was scorching the heated skin below Louis' ear, teeth and  
lips sucking on the surface. He was checking on whether Louis was ready and the boy knew exactly how to  
respond, rolling his hips back to get the Dominus' aching erection between his cheeks where it fitted snugly,  
pressuring externally the boy's sensitive hole.

Louis mewled helplessly when Harry's hand circled his throat, forcing him back onto him with all his strength.  
Harry reached down between themselves and hastily prepared himself to be positioned at Louis' entrance, cutoff and breathy exhales coming from his rapidly heaving chest. He's never been this excited or out of tune  
with his sanity before, wanting nothing more ever again than to bury himself to the hilt inside his boy.  
With a shout, Louis fell forward and left his hips propped up in the air under the close attention of Harry's  
rough hands. Palms scathed his flushed skin and doused it with ice, rubbing over his cheeks and pulling them  
apart to worsen the stretch. Louis felt so full and topped to the brim with Harry lost inside him, bottomed out  
and taking up every confine of space within his body.

Slowly he moved as Harry started to, nervous about not knowing what to do except the Dominus took charge  
from the start and secured Louis' hips before beginning the unfathomably brutal process of thrusting with wild  
bucks in and out of him. Hard hips slapped against Louis' ass, the sting and pinch of it leaving him feeling  
throttled. Harry was taken over by something primal and of his animal side, waist pivoting in desperate efforts  
to remain swathed in Louis.

The boy threw his head back and raked his nails down the mattress, screeching when Harry reached around  
the front and massaged him where thigh met pelvis. It tossed him overboard as the swaying length between  
his legs was too much and the ache deep in his belly was being beaten up by Harry slamming into it so it  
bruised. The Dominus didn't care for damage and gentility as much as he did for locking onto Louis' shoulder  
with his teeth and fucking into him like it was his only means of survival.

It just might be so because as Harry sped up and he drunk in the sight and sounds of Louis losing himself to  
pleasure, surges of energy crashed over them. Louis had wide-blown eyes and swollen lips, hair and skin  
sweaty to match Harry's pale but faintly red exterior. Harry watched his length disappear into Louis' tight, pink  
hole. It stretched magnificently to accommodate the girth of his fattening knot, slick seeping out around his  
c*ck and filling their morning with loud squelching sounds.

One of the most significant things Louis has ever witnessed is Harry muttering curse words and muted  
exclamations of pleasure into his neck. It was profound and oh so sensual to have the Dominus' rosy lips that  
were once experiencing the landscape of his body now ruining them both with just his low and dirty words.  
They left Louis breathless and flustered, his blush still present through all of it.

Harry guided Louis' hands to the foot of the bed where the wooden frame of the bed still survived. He clamped  
down on the wooden rod holding the two legs apart, his hands secured over Louis' to keep them both upright.  
His knees parted Louis' thighs as he pleased and gave him no moment to think, snapping his hips against  
Louis' bum without a fear of breaking any rules. He could only see the part of Louis that he wanted to breed  
and mark up as viciously as possible, intending with his athletic thrusts to leave it bruised and so tender that  
his mate had to rely on him for everything.

Louis made soft 'uh' noises between the delivery of Harry's thrusts, curling his toes and rolling his head back  
from the opaque satisfaction. Harry was attacking his prostate with his angry length, determined by his grunts  
and groans to leave Louis broken.

"Talk to me." Harry suddenly growled into his ear, his wolf demanding the sound of Louis' voice when he's  
trembling.'

His mate was at a loss, not knowing what words were expected of him. "I-I lov- Ah! Love you."  
Harry's lips formed a smile on Louis' throat, sucking bruises around the bond mark that's started to bleed  
again from all the tension and emotions travelling through it. "You have s-such a sweet soul."

Louis can't comprehend how Harry is speaking clearly when he's rapidly reaching his climax, chalking it down  
to a Dominus having so much control - with last night being the exception. Harry did stutter when he cursed  
in Louis' ear and flattened their bodies into one unit.

"It belongs to me now." He vowed, eyebrows furrowed as he endured the coming of his knot. "F-fuck!"  
His mate in his arms came apart with a shout, white ropes splattering his belly and torso. Falling apart at his  
edges, Louis sucked in a sharp breath and screamed loud enough to be heard above the winds, ass tender  
from the pounding it earned and muscles raving with energy as Harry' knot inflated. He'd hardly caught the  
beginnings of his breath when Harry collapsed onto his side and took Louis with him, an arm wound tightly  
around the boy's middle. They were locked together and it felt like an infinity.

Harry kissed Louis' bond mark, bloody though it was, his leg that usually needs the prosthetic nestled between  
Louis' warm thighs. The boy feltexhausted but terribly alive and restless from the come entering his system,  
all the energy coming from his Dominus. He stretched his upper half as much as he could and smiled when  
Harry wrapped around him protectively, growling lowly as his knot sat snug in Louis' body.

"Did I hurt you, haud mirum?" Harry asked with a scratchy voice that spoke well about their just past  
passionate escapade.

Louis shook his head and blushed when Harry wiped off his front with a stray shred of their once precious  
bedsheets. It was discarded and Harry used his able leg to support them both so they were stationary on a  
crumbling bed. His precious mate was slowing his breath and holding his hand, a thigh resting on Harry's to  
stay open and not shift the knot tying them together.

"I love you too." Harry replies to Louis' proclamation from earlier when his mind was mush.  
Giggling abruptly, Louis coincidentally rests his hand connected with Harry's over his tummy and gasps from  
the sensation beneath it. He doesn't think before wriggling and Harry hisses, stilling him from such acts.  
"It's just me, haud mirum." He chuckles at his darling mate, peppering kisses behind his ear. His fingertips  
lightly tickle that portion of Louis' belly where the bump was from his wide knot pumping his seed relentlessly.  
"It feels strange." Louis says quietly, tracing the outline of Harry's wolf c*ck where he knew it was.

"Bad?" Harry nuzzles his mate's neck and licks over the bond mark to seal it, preventing anymore blood loss.  
"No." Craning his neck, Louis sees what his Dominus looks like in his postcoital glow.

It's a magnificent sight. Harry smiles in a way that makes them equal forever and kisses Louis' lips so gently it  
erases his roughness from earlier. He had such prominent emerald eyes that they fought to seek a home  
inside Louis' soul, the dark tint of them changing the connotations from humble to erotic.  
"I'm feeding you after this." Harry gave him an Eskimo kiss and pecked his lips. "Whatever you like."

Louis doesn't know if he'll survive not doing anything with all this energy rocking his center of gravity. He  
cuddles into Harry and traces the tattoos on the biceps around him.  
"We both need a bath." He laughs to himself and Harry picks up on it, chuckling softly at the reminder.  
"I agree." Harry bit his lip and let Louis use his arm as a pillow. "I don't suppose you'd mind sharing that with  
me now?"

With a smile that took away time from his response, Louis pouted. "Maybe I do."

Harry pinched his hip and nipped at his knuckle. "What do I have to do to such trust?"

"Hold me." Louis was immediately wrapped up by a pair of the strongest arms in the world, making him feel  
safer than anyone else could possibly feel. "I'll share that bath with you now."


	7. chapter seven

Louis' memory deceives him as he tries to remember how making breakfast turned into him being bent over  
the kitchen countertop next to the stove, his sweatpants dropped and now keening at the inexplicable  
pleasure awarded to him by the smooth slide and snap of Harry's hips against his bum.

He has broken noises falling from his lips with slightly white frosty breath, fingernails scraping the wooden  
surface and his body held down by a strong arm pressing into his back. Harry held onto his hip with so a  
deathly a grip that Louis would have to face bruises once they're done.

Thing is, that greedy recently developed part of his brain that controls his libido doesn't ever want this to stop.  
Harry makes every sexual experience feel like the roughest experience whilst remaining Louis' fairytale. The  
Dominus was straightforward with what he wanted, driving forward into the warm clenching confines of his  
lover.

Louis screamed and gripped the cabinets for some sort of grounding when Harry nailed his prostate, his back  
arched beautifully with a light sheen of sweat covering it. Harry's hips pivoted with his thrusts, punching every  
sound and breath out of Louis before leaning over and rapidly snapping his thrusts. Louis was thrashing about  
and shrieking from how Harry was merciless in the nibbling on the skin around their bond mark, reopening it  
with his teeth.

His thighs hit the drawers and his ass was on fire from the persistent sting of muscular thighs slamming into  
him. Harry groaned and clenched his fists, angling Louis' head to unite their lips in a sloppy kiss with tongues  
and teeth. After making love twice, this experience is declared far more hurried and urgent. The noises they  
fill the room with are all choppy and broken, left to linger in the air above their heads.

Something possesses Harry to spin Louis around and hike his soft, golden thighs up high on his waist before  
pushing back in. His mate makes a long, high-pitched moan as his back meets the counter again and he's  
flattened extensively to a point of little pain. He has his eyes closed when Harry starts moving again, pounding  
into him and bruising his tight walls. The scent of his slick fills the heated atmosphere, adding the sound of  
wet skin as it drips onto his inner thighs and Harry's V-line.

The swelling at the base of Harry's throbbing erection becomes prominent when Louis feels it stretching his  
hole far more than it can handle. Harry's also making sounds of discomfort because a knot is meant to be kept  
still and nestled inside his mate. He was pushing the limit until it popped fully and he physically couldn't move  
it.

"H-Haud mirum." Harry struggles to pull himself together, to have control over his own fervent body.

Louis' head is thrown back and his neck craned, thighs quivering where Harry held them up. He was blinded by  
the feverish lust between them. "I-I- My love, pl-please!"

Harry thrusted once more into Louis' welcoming heat and satisfied them both by coming hard into the sore  
and tender state of his mate's body. Louis screams to the ceiling as he paints his tummy white with his  
release, muscles tightening before settling.

The broader of the two lovers realised there was something wrong when Louis started to squirm in discomfort.  
He chuckles and plants a wet kiss over the boy's pulse.

"We should not have done this." He remains completely still, the muscles in his back straining.

Louis giggles too and Harry hears it in his ear, the sweet sound grazing his hot skin. "What are we going to  
do?"

Knotting in a position like this was difficult to get comfortable in, especially when Harry's knot took close to an  
hour to go down. He thought for a moment before pecking Louis' lips and straightening himself, the knots in  
his back popping in tandem with Louis' whine and pawing fingers at his chest.

"Shh." Harry captures both his mate's hands and kisses all ten fingertips before helping him up.  
Louis has himself tightly wound around Harry's body, arms and legs locked around the Dominus' frame. He  
rested his chin on Harry's shoulder and flinched everytime there was a shift inside him. That would happen  
often and he'd always make a sound to say when it became too sensitive.

"Lie here with me, haud mirum." Harry lowers himself onto the couch and Louis goes with him, sitting perched  
on his Dominus' lap with flushed skin and bright eyes. "You are magnificent, my Louis."  
Blushing still despite their current situation, Louis clutches one of the quilts from their cosy nest by the fire  
and half his face is buried in it. The sight is both adorable and breathtaking to have just those two astonishing  
eyes peering shyly back at Harry. 

Time seems to slip past them after that moment when Harry raises himself up on his elbows, smirking into the  
kiss Louis consents to. His palm brushes Louis' smooth, soft cheek. He keeps their mouths aligned and  
connected, his teeth nibbling on the boy's bottom lip.

The Dominus has Louis falling forward under the covers that hide them both, their kiss deepening until it  
tastes like liquid gold and magic. He warns Louis before letting his hands wander down the curved plane of  
Louis' spine, squeezing the gasp out of his mate when he reached the perkiness of his behind.  
"I love this." Harry muttered gruffly into Louis' neck, suckling on the skin of their bond mark. The blood  
dabbed his lips and he tasted it on his tongue. "I love this part of you."

Louis is giggling again and wrapping his arms around Harry's neck to serve as his pillow rather than the  
armrest of the couch. He presses their foreheads together and beams so bright it's a fair contender for the  
hearth of their cottage.  
"I want to hear that sweet voice of yours." Harry taps Louis' lips with his index finger. "Why won't you grant me  
that mercy?"

Without rolling his hips though he wanted to because they were growing stiff and restless, Louis curls his  
fingers in Harry's hair and gets concealed in layers of warm covers. "I don't know what to say sometimes. It  
feels like we're still outside that cottage on the first night we met."

Harry's brow knits together for a moment as he fights any chance at jerking his hips so he'd get a further  
opportunity at uncovering a deeper rest position inside his sweetheart. Louis' calm breathing and soothing  
pulse helps bring Harry's internal pressure to a standard state that doesn't make the Dominus feel like he's  
being compressed.

"Why do you think that?" Harry pulls Louis down more securely to his chest, combing through the boy's fringe  
so it's pushed back and speaking with a drawl into his ear.

Louis sniffled and tucked his feet in under Harry's thighs, one still feeling bare because of the lack of surface  
area on the Dominus' leg. He felt just as warm anyway. "I think it may be the excitement. Everything feels so  
new but I love that it's all ours."

Harry smiled into Louis' hair and nuzzled the side of his neck affectionately. "Oh how sweet you are, haud  
mirum. Of course everything of mine is yours."

* * * * *

Louis was too fond of burrowing into Harry's torso when the cold got lethal and he would whine or shiver,  
mostly both. The fire was roaring beside them and Harry couldn't feel a stitch of the cold but he was in  
mourning over the fact that he wasn't able to help his precious mate. Since their steaming bath together this  
morning, he's gotten every blanket or quilt out from storage and sacrificed them all to have Louis cocooned by  
all twelve layers twice over.

For now, Harry could only keep Louis plastered to his chest with bold arms constricting around him. He  
breathed in his mate's scent with flared nostrils and little growls of expert possessiveness, fingers sometimes  
twitching when it gave him bursts of emotion.

"Are you alright now, haud mirum?" The Dominus waits to ask after Louis hasn't sneezed or grumbled for  
twenty full minutes. 

"A little." Louis replies in a small, tired voice. The energy given to him by his Dominus has worn off the  
exhaustion produced by their amorous activities has caught up to himself.

Harry got a glimpse of the ocean from two perspectives that was the pure miracle of Louis' eyes, tinted grey by  
the orange flames. "I love you very much."  
"I love you too." Louis is smiling when Harry leans in to kiss the tip of his nose, a blush on his cheeks when the  
Dominus nuzzles that part of him. "Why aren't you feeling cold?"

Feeling guilty at the question, Harry clings a bit more to his sweet lover. "We aren't meant to, from the first  
Dominus to the last."

"That's weird." Louis chews his lip and it burns from the amount of times he's done that. "Can I sleep now?"  
Harry hesitated. Sleeping in extremely cold weather isn't good or prone to producing any happy results. He'd  
rather have Louis awake and tired than never wake up again. "I'm sorry, haud mirum. You have to stay awake  
until the wind settles."

Louis didn't argue or whine in protest. "Okay. We need something to talk about then."  
Feeling an abundance of relief, Harry rubs over the region he suspects - he's as certain of it as he is of his  
name - to be Louis' behind. It's become an obsession with him, to feel up some part of his lover at any - or all  
\- times.

"Tell me everything there is to know about you, haud mirum." Harry trails his relaxed knuckles up and down  
Louis' back.

"Um....-" Louis huffs and turns onto his side, curled up smaller than he could possibly be under his Dominus'  
chin. "I really like apples. The first thing my grandmother taught me was to climb an apple tree and pick the  
best ones before we made an apple pie together."

Harry hums, intent on listening to everything his mate tells him. He pictures a young Louis with the finest eyes  
and softest appearance perched on the steadiest branch on an aged apple tree. "Perhaps we can go together to  
a meadow I discovered last spring. There will be enough choice of apples between three trees, I believe."  
"Oh! Please?" Louis pouts after his painful sneeze and Harry kisses his forehead. "That sounds wonderful."  
"I can't promise to let you climb any trees." Harry dictates his restrictions because he will be firm in them at  
any and all times for the sake of his mate's well-being.

"That's okay." Louis agrees instantly, circling Harry's nipple with his index. "I don't think I remember how to  
after years of learning how such behaviour can make a mate unworthy."

Harry has to change his mind after that, a frown causing the stress creases on his forehead to worsen and  
unkind growl to ripple out of his chest. "Haud mirum, nothing could ever make something about you  
unworthy. I love you from head to toe, even the air around you is desirable to me."

Louis looks up at him with shimmering oceans for eyes that sparkle because they're so floored by passionate  
words from a newly mated Dominus. He reaches up and cups Harry's cheek to deliver the sole response he can  
share with connecting their lips. His love and commitment all flow through their united lips, undeniably  
rendering them both free of any worldly trauma. 

"I want to have to again." Harry makes a soft depraved sound from the gravely tone of his throat. He's  
clutching the blankets where they hugged Louis' hips and nipped continually at the boy's soft lips.  
Tilting his head back, Louis gasped at the sensations produced by Harry sinking his teeth into his throat. He  
scratched the Dominus' scalp and mewled lowly, aware that it's been little under two hours from their last  
knotting.

He had to tell Harry what was on the tip of his tongue. "I-I could get pregnant."

Harry's growl became intensified with volume and vibrations warming up Louis' bare skin. He licked into his  
mate's mouth with sheer concentration and massaged the hot, pink tongue flicking against his. Imagining  
Louis rounded and with child - his pups - was enough motivation to cage the boy in.

"I want that, haud mirum." He stated in with Alpha timbre in his voice, eyes darkening with lust and need so  
his mate knew of his clear intentions. "I want to breed you, fill you up with my babies."

Louis wasn't as stunned at the naughty words his wolf Dominus used with him as he had been their first time  
together. His cheeks heated from the skin of his neck and he tightened his body like a vine around Harry.  
Carrying the man's pups is what he wants just as well, craving the extra warmth and weight from the lives of  
their unborns.

Unfortunately, he had to be rational because a Dominus had an Alpha side that never thought clearly when  
clouded with the scent of their rightful mate. Louis whined high in his throat when Harry started kneaded his  
behind by snaking his hands down under the covers, desperate to awaken the glands that produced copious  
amounts of the sweetest slick.

"I-Is it-" Louis was majorly sensitive when it came to his ass and couldn't be blamed for losing track of his  
words as Harry's fingers inspected that recently found feature of amassed beauty. "Is it not t-too soon, my  
love?"

Harry disagreed by slipped two of his dry fingers down the crack of Louis' cheeks and rubbing incessantly  
against his hole. The circular muscle began to clench and unclench, trying to open itself to the offering from  
the Dominus. Louis felt it throb and Harry gripped his right cheek so firmly that releasing it made a slight  
ripple of the muscle.

"H-Har- My love, please." Louis arched his back and stretched himself out, rolling his hips back into Harry's  
hand that's playing with his abused hole. "T-That feels good."

"Yeah?" Harry teased because his sexual prowess has been intensified each time they were naked and  
vulnerable to one another. He sucked a bruise into his mate's skin below his ear and prodded at the  
moistening entrance his fingers inspected.

Louis dragged his fingernails down Harry's scalp and nape, overruled by the torturous sensations being driven  
up his spine. Harry's skin was heating up just like his and it felt so cool that Louis failed to resist bringing his  
mouth down to the Dominus' clavicle and tasting it.

"Take me." Louis surrendered his resistance and sat up with Harry, his length hardening yet inferior to Harry's  
stiff erection pressing into his belly. "Breed me, Dominus."

Harry was magnificently uncensored after Louis muttered those words to him, relinquishing control to the  
Dominus. He yanked the covers off Louis and threw him down on his back so that the far more possessive of  
the two lovers had him pinned to the couch and open. Harry buried his face in Louis' neck for the taxing hour  
he took making love to Louis with slow, gentle thrusts that worked him up immensely and let his hole gaping  
around air.

Louis clawed at Harry's back while the Dominus penetrated his most private and sensitive region. He gave in to  
their kisses with an open mouth and clashing tongues, shared his essence by the slick dripping down his  
thighs. It stained the couch and Harry often reached down to circle around their joined area. He'd gather up as  
much slick mixed with the leaked traces of his own precome to taste. It was obscene and explicit, bringing the  
most erotic things Louis could possibly imagine to his attention.

Harry didn't knot him after Louis' first orgasm. He pinned his legs apart and dove right in with an eager  
tongue, lapping at the possible gallons of slick welcomed onto his tongue. Louis thrashed about and scraped  
the couch cushions with such ferocity that it left marks on the fabric. Harry didn't stop until his tongue was  
wiggling around inside his mate, holding his sore walls apart and massaging their tenderness with the wet  
muscle.

Their eyes would connect and Harry never refrained from shutting out the cold with his steamy smoulder. It  
crippled Louis' higher brain power and left him twitching, squirming so frantically beneath his Dominus.  
The absence of one full leg never hindered Harry's abilities to drive Louis utterly mad with pleasure. He'd  
earlier unstrapped it for their cuddle by the fire and now manoeuvred without it across the length of Louis'  
body. Lost in their current activities, Harry failed to remember the hindrance his missing leg once caused. He  
knew his little wonder loved him without it and wouldn't pray for a change anytime.

"M-My love, please." Louis' head tossed from side to side, tugging on Harry's hair. "I need you."  
"Yes, haud mirum." The Dominus kissed his way up the boy's flushed front to his lips. "I am yours."

Louis' legs were thrown over his thighs and Harry had to secure them with both hands or else have them slip  
off where one of the boy's ankles couldn't hook over his complete knee. The Dominus held onto the soft, firm  
flesh and snogged all he could out of his mate.

Emotions and tastes were swapped between them, skin sliding against wet skin and the couch creaking from  
their jerky motions and sudden outbursts. Sounds of their breathless pants and ragged moans filled the air  
hanging around in their homely cottage.

Harry throws himself into their whirlwind of passion and forgets that the day wears on around them, the  
blizzard of snow lessening and the night crawling closer. He pushes back into Louis only when he's got the  
boy bent over the arm rest of the couch, stomach pressing into the toughest part of the sofa so he could add  
mass to his back. The Dominus had the perfect view of Louis' glorious posterior end, puckered and glistening  
hole clenching around nothing.

He draped himself over Louis' body and pushed back into him, groaning loudly and drawing it out because of  
the intense satisfaction derived from sheathing himself in the hottest and tightest confines. His inner wolf was  
howling powerfully, trailing off to cloak and protect his precious mate at a time when his hips start to pivot  
wildly.

There is nothing on Harry's mind except the image of Louis pregnant. He convinces himself that the harder he  
thrusts, the more fervent and animalistic he let's himself become he's getting closer to that image. His tough  
thighs slap against Louis' lower half as he grunts and moans into the boy's ear, pinning their arms down and  
swallowing any other sounds from his mate with a roll of his tongue.

Louis comes for a third time with his abdomen clenching tightly and twisting with a great release. He paints  
his belly and torso white before panting from the bursts of energy and empowerment granted to him by his  
Dominus. Pushing himself up, Louis moved his hips backwards to encourage Harry's release, the inflation of  
the girth driving him wild.

Harry's fingers curled around Louis' neck and drew him back with one solid tug, choking his air supply as he  
shoved his knot in as deep as it would go. It popped with a satisfactory squeeze from his mate and began  
pumping loads of his seed into the boy's system.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to stop myself from wanting this." Harry spoke after a moment of silence when  
Louis sought comfort in his arms and closed his eyes in contentment.

Louis flattened one palm on Harry's chest, the other pulling the sufficient amount of covers up to his  
shoulders. He was sticky and in need of a shower but he couldn't care less. "I'll never stop you. I want it too."  
The Dominus buried his nose in Louis' hair and ensnared the slender silhouette of his mate's waist, claiming it  
all as his own. He tangled their fingers together and felt Louis' cold toes on the stump of his leg. "Why do you  
think that is?"

"We're newly mated." Louis' eyelids flutter when Harry's lips reach his bond mark and a new wave of heat  
settles inside him. "We want nothing more than each other."

"It may also be-" Harry nipped at his earlobe and thumbed at the skin below his belly button. "-that I love you  
with so much of my own being that it requires yours for mere survival."  
Louis is shaking his head and even already once again breathless from such affectionate speech from a man  
who didn't have time to practise. "My heart and soul are so taken with you, my love. I don't think we'd ever  
move past one another. I love you."

The circular trap of Harry's heavy arms made of refined muscle structure tightens Hellishly around his mate,  
protective in his stance and possessive in his little growl. He looks pained by how his brows furrow and  
forehead creased in a frown, so deprived of such passion and love all his life as a Dominus to have it now at a  
mighty climax. His lips part and his throat releases a strained howl that's low and dedicated to his beautiful  
better half. It was a wolf's way of saying 'I love you, be mine and I'll be yours'.

* * * * *

Louis woke up to a midnight hour where he's facing the frosted window, a thousand and one blankets or  
comforters draped over his balled-up body to be tucked in at the corners. He was immobile and had nothing  
to complain about because the warmth was so on point that he wasn't too hot or uncomfortable. Yawning  
softly, he allowed himself to stretch. Pointing his toes and cracking his knuckles before blinking away the  
fuzziness of his vision and picking up the divine smell of edibles.

One disappointment comes into being and that is the fact that his brutish other half that he cared for to the  
world's end, isn't curled up with him anymore. Before he can recognise what he's doing, Louis makes a small  
whine of longing to call his absent Dominus from wherever he may be.

There's a shadow blocking some of the fire's embers and light not two seconds later, following by the  
crouching form of his dominant lover who still wasn't as cold as he should be. He smelt like he did before, like  
he and Louis shared skin as well as scents. With a soft smile, Harry reached forward and caressed Louis' cheek.  
The simplistic enchantment of this boy in such a sleepy mood happens to be his main addiction.  
"Haud mirum." Harry chuckled when he was on his knees, Louis huffing before freeing one of his hands to be  
linked with Harry's. "How did you sleep?"

"Woke up without you." His mate whispered, leaning forward a bit so he could rest his head in the juncture of  
Harry's neck where it was safest. "I didn't like that so much."  
"I'm sorry, my little darling." Harry tried not to upset the nest Louis was in when he shuffled closer, careful of  
his prosthetic limb scraping the ground. "I planned to make us supper."  
"Oh?" Louis wrapped one arm around Harry's neck and let his eyes close once again. "Can I help?"  
"I'm afraid not." The Dominus rubs up and down his bare back under the sheets. "You are not to leave this  
spot, haud mirum."

He sounded so authoritative in his Alpha voice that Louis giggled. "Yes, Dominus."  
Harry's playful growl and bite to his mate's shoulder only served to strengthen his enjoyment. "If you disobey  
me there will be consequences, my lover."

"What kind of consequences, my love?" Louis replied, watching the snow fall through a window pane on the far  
opposite wall.

"You may have to take a bath with me." Harry spoke seriously, but the twitching of his smirking lips said  
something else. "Let me explore this lovely body of yours with this hand."  
Louis saw him hold up his right hand from where he's peeking out at life in the cove he's created in Harry's  
neck. He tears up after one more yawn and grabs that hand with his, wrapping all his fingers around Harry's  
middle finger. "This hand?"

Harry hummed and kissed his forehead, now supporting Louis' weight so it didn't slide off the sofa. "The very  
same, haud mirum."

Amused, Louis allows himself the peace of mind that comes with laughing to heard his Dominus laugh too. He  
picks at the fine threads of Harry's shirt that's long-sleeved and unbuttoned at the top. The material was so  
smooth and silky even though it had to be cotton, not letting up when Louis was pinching it.  
It got too uncomfortable on the floor for the wooden slate of Harry's prosthetic to continually slide  
aggravatingly against his stump of a knee. He got up and sat on the very edge of the couch, smiling when all  
Louis did was discreetly hide his face in his side. Arms loosely around Harry's waist and breaths short, he's  
stuck to his Dominus.

"What were you cooking?" Louis mumbles into the firm area of Harry he's cuddling.  
"Stew." He heard and felt a hand smoothing down his back, brushing away faint traces of sweat and lightly  
scratching his skin.  
"I like stew." Louis confesses with a tiny smile, quiet as the faintest dew and cute as a button. "What kind are  
you making?"

"Beef, haud mirum." Harry's chuckle made his dimples pop and convince him to lean down until he's pecking  
the boy's temple. "Would you like something else?" 

"Maybe I can help?" Louis had such devastatingly shimmering eyes when he tilted his head back to ask. "I hate  
not having anything to do."

"Unfortunately I still fancy you staying here." Harry patted Louis' hip and fanned his fingers out over the sinful  
curve that made visible the position of his mate's bum. "It's almost done, haud mirum. Maybe next time I won't  
allow you to sleep in favour of helping me."

With a small yawn and attempt at turning into a ball of human features, Louis kisses Harry's leg and closes his  
eyes. "I think I would appreciate that."

With Louis in and out of his fantastical land of dreams, Harry tends to the pot on the stove. He lifts the lid and  
stirs what smelt delicious inside it, daring to taste some while he mentally turned over a deliberation about  
whether or not to reveal something of entertainment purposes so his mate wasn't so bored all the time.

He slips out of the kitchen with the timer on and bounds up the stairs two at a time, pushing his hair back  
when it fell in his face and reaching above his head to yank on a suspended string. Down came a folded set of  
stairs that stood before him, aged and leading to an attic that's small enough to keep him hunched.

Being up there in complete darkness after never taking the time out to install windows or a lightbulb, Harry  
sneezes thrice in a row before bumping into his target. He brushes the top of it and feels dust gather on his  
fingers, the sandy feel never once before having been a blessing. It's been documented as many years since he  
had this old television in his life, the monstrosity of a device being one of the few things his brother was  
allowed to gift him.

The television was heavier than the ordinary flatscreens of today and still functioned with an aerial rod and  
VCR gadget. He had a box of old tapes that couldn't possibly be worth their time but Harry can't do any better  
now that they're stuck here in isolation. He wants to do everything he can to make his mate happy and in their  
current circumstance, this old television is the best he can manage.

Taking it downstairs to his sleepy and unoccupied Louis is the toughest bit of all because the Dominus has no  
idea of what to expect from the boy. He hauls it down the thirteen steps with the cardboard box of old taped  
atop it, unable to see and rolling his eyes fondly at the soft gasp he hears from the fireplace.

"What are you doing?" Louis doesn't sound too happy with Harry attempting to do what he is. He hops off the  
couch and takes the weight of the cardboard box off Harry's shoulders.

"Settle down, haud mirum." Harry soothed after dropping the television onto the floor and resting his palms on  
Louis' hips, thumbing over the slight protrusion of bone and laying kisses over the boy's neck. "You are....very  
naked, beloved."

Louis was pouting and cross but that all faded away the moment he realised how nude he was. With a gasp of  
scandal and a prominent blush rising to his cheeks, the boy tries escaping from the cage he's in to cover up.  
Harry is far too fond of his adorable mate and his soft, delicate body always in plain sight to let him slip by.  
His arms tighten and his fingers curl into Louis' sides, tickling him without meaning to.

"Harry?" Louis spoke quietly and gave up his struggle, unsure of whether or not his Dominus really wanted this  
of him.

The temperature in and around their cottage had risen to a level that's allowed the fire to keep everything on  
their current level toasty. Harry was fine with the nakedness but his protective instincts were more powerful  
than his lust. 

"Put this on, haud mirum." Harry was pulling his shirt over his head, messing up his flawless curls that were at  
rest and now thrown off their balance.

After turning it inside-out again, Harry takes an impossible step closer to run his hands up Louis' arms and  
stare wondrously into Louis' eyes like they could save the world from war and hatred. He put the shirt on for  
his mate without permission and wrapped his arms around the figure of his hips, smiling goofily when Louis  
was on his toes trying to connect their lips.

Granting himself and his beloved that mercy, Harry bends a little to crash his lips into Louis'. Their bodies  
instantly swapped meaning and became designed as well as intended for the other. Louis was supported by  
Harry's firm, objective hands pressing into his lower back. He was giggling in muted form and bit playfully on  
Harry's lower lip after their mouths separated, a squeak leaving him when his Dominus picks him up off the  
ground.

Harry's growl is warm and reassuring as he doesn't let up on his gorgeous other. "I think I can forget about the  
world and just be with you, haud mirum."

Louis closes his body around Harry's and let's himself be taken to a land of love and adoration. "I wish the  
world would forget about us and let that be."

* * * * *

Louis and Harry have been occupied together in the kitchen all evening, their little moments between slicing  
home-made garlic bread and sampling the warm pudding Louis put in the oven being priced higher than any  
materialistic object in the universe.

There was no running away from the small bursts of laughter he'd earn from his mate whenever there was  
time to pinch his hip or chuckle after catching him nibble on the bread for too long. Louis ate both ends of the  
freshly baked bread and held up an offering for his Dominus when the man happened past him in the cramped  
kitchen.

Harry didn't have to set their places and despised his decision to not buy a dining room table. He chose to  
drag a stunted coffee table from a spot under the staircase, setting it in front of the fireplace so their view was  
the roaring pit. Louis watched him hoist the television onto the far end of it so it's the perfect viewing height,  
his smile unsmotherable at how domestic Harry's nature is.

While his Dominus worked timeously to make the pair of aerial rods atop the box television a functioning set,  
Louis turned off the stove and plated their food. He put the rest of the bread onto a warm plate and set the  
pudding tray down on a cloth. Harry was done when the first sign of static came in, making Louis clap like a  
gleeful child.

"Well done, my love." Louis commended him with a chaste peck on his lips after Harry pretended to bow at his  
accomplishment.

Harry smirked with humble pride and shared in Louis' Eskimo kiss before it was no longer possible to delay  
their hunger. Louis spread out the blankets evenly before sitting down on them cross-legged, his hot plate of  
food warming up his lap. Harry sat beside him and soon had half a lapful of his beautiful mate.  
"Where did you find this?" Louis asked about the television, his thigh serving as a surface for Harry to place his  
plate. "I always thought you never had a television." 

"We have an attic I'll have to show you one day." Harry tore up his bread and jabbed them with his fork,  
scooping up some of the gravy and meat with the pieces. "I never cared for them. The films we have are  
stupidly old."

Louis rolled his eyes and picked up some of the chopped vegetables in his bowl. "I love old films."  
Harry gave him an indiscreet wink. "Then prepare for the time of your life, haud mirum."

The Dominus put on the first decent movie he could find in the box of cassette tapes after they finished their  
food. Louis grinned at him with the last slice of the bread roll in his hand, munching on it happily from his  
relaxed post on Harry's chest. They laid themselves out like that for the night, Harry's body keeping Louis' safe  
and warm with a container of pudding between them.

Chosen wisely is the movie Harry put in. It was black and white and starred the legend Charlie Chaplin. Louis'  
eyes crinkled a thousand times from the hilarity of the star's antics and would open his mouth to get fed more  
of the pudding with Harry's stainless steel spoon.

Like that the night wore on until yawns were heard from Harry's cuddling partner on their third old movie.  
Louis wasn't lying about having had a liking towards them because he whined when Harry tried to switch the  
television off.

"Come now, haud mirum." Harry extended his arm at his hiding mate. "We have to clean up."  
Remembering the mess they made earlier brought Louis' focus back and he woke up with a short stretch.  
Harry's eyes weren't forbidden from wandering across the expanded planes of his lovely partner's body, from  
his quivering thighs to the peek of their bond mark. They washed up the grimy dishes together and Louis only  
let himself leave after the kitchen was spotless. He took the pillows from their couch along with the dirty  
sheets from the floor with him to the bathroom to dump in the hamper.

Harry found himself sharing a tiny shower with his lover where their bodies had to be pressed together and  
the steam shared in the space heat both their chests up. The hot water cascaded down Louis' form in perfect  
rivulets, cleaning him of the day's burdens and leaving him squeaky clean. Harry's hands slid over Louis' hips  
and pulled him back to him, nosing along his fresh bond mark with small rumbles.

"I like the smell of this." Louis inspected a bar of pale soap that's supposed to be herbal but effective.  
Bemused, the Dominus spreads some of the foam across Louis' tummy and his thumb rubs it gently into his  
belly button. Louis was preoccupied with the soap until Harry took it from him and began the lathering  
process with his rough hands battling to be cautious. The boy sighed and leaned back against Harry,  
shampooed hair earning a kiss after his temple.

"What do you suppose we do tomorrow?" Harry is stuck wrapped around Louis under the shower spray with his  
face in his mate's neck.

"You don't think-" Louis chewed his lip hesitantly. "-we could go outside for the snow?"  
A loud scoff came from Harry. It was an absurd thought to have about playing in the Devil's lair of the snow  
outside. Playing or merely stepping beyond their foyer is unthinkable. "Absolutely not, haud mirum."  
"But why not?" Louis was sticking his bottom lip out undoubtedly and Harry isn't brave enough to see it  
without caving. 

"It's too cold for either of us to be outside, beloved." Harry explains slowly, lips dragging a course up and  
down Louis' bent neck. "Maybe towards the end of winter when the snow is less hazardous, okay?"

Louis can make that compromise and nods with a tired smile. He exercises his fingers on Harry's forearm by  
spreading them out and swaying slightly with the Dominus. They finish up with Louis making Harry pick him  
up to wash his hair, afterwards stepping out so the Dominus could remove and dry his prosthetic limb.

Harry sat on their bed after towelling over the wooden plank of an object, ensuring the cranks and straps were  
not going to fail on themselves with his usage. Louis found a comfortable sweater and some thick socks to  
pair with his sweatpants. He saw Harry drop the wooden leg onto the bed next to him and look at him silently  
for a minute, fingertips brushing the waxed surface of it.

Not wanting to destroy Harry's moment of silence, Louis wrapped his arms around himself and stayed hidden  
in the closet. He watched Harry close his eyes in thought before revealing a fresh set of green eyes, the  
emotion that once swam in them now vanquished.

"Come out here, haud mirum." Harry spoke to him after being aware of his mate's choice of being silent.  
"Come be with me."

Louis hid his hands inside his comfy sleeves and left the dark closet to crawl onto Harry's lap where he  
rightfully belonged. He smiled shyly up through his lashes and Harry comforts him with a small tug on his  
waist. The Dominus latches onto him with both arms, presses his bare chest to Louis' clothed one.

"What's the matter, my love?" Louis asks softly, combing through Harry's hair with his fingers. He kisses a spot  
on Harry's cheek and listens to the man sigh peacefully.

"There are moments when I wish I still had my leg." Harry starts, holding onto Louis as his lifeline and anchor  
to this world. "I could be a whole man and Dominus for you."

"Harry, my love." Louis must protest to that and he does by hugging the man holding onto him tighter. "I'd  
never change anything about you. You are my loving, sweet, caring and passionate Dominus. Leg or no leg, if  
you didn't have both legs. Harry, I love you for your heart."

Harry's response is to grip Louis' sides and comforting body with all of himself laid out bare and exposed. He  
breathes harshly into his mate's neck where he sat perched on his thighs, the incompletion of one not  
rendering Louis deterred. Tolerant and adorable, Louis lightly tickles the back of Harry's neck with his  
fingertips and tugs on a stray strand of curly hair.

"Sweet, sweet beloved." Harry brushes his thumb over Louis' back where the dips and faint bumps of his spinal  
column. "I love you. I was born into this world to find you and yet I have no way to thank you for the comfort  
you bring me."

"There is no thanks between mates, my love." Louis feels his own heartbeat thump like a thunderous racehorse  
against his ribcage, fighting to join Harry's.

* * * * *

"Why is it so hot?" Louis asked in a disguised complaint as he kicked off everything covering him.  
He lay spread eagle on the mattress they've dragged downstairs to have in front of the fireplace in this  
freezing winter, but here's Louis feeling like he's burning up. His temples are sweating and through the pores  
on his scalp, fingers clammy and clothes too much. He's been stripped down to just a thin white vest but even  
that feels like too much.

Louis turns his head to raise an inquisitive brow at Harry when the Dominus laughs louder than usual. "What is  
it?"

Harry turns onto his side and the blackness of his pulsating emeralds orbs sparkly from the fire reflecting light  
off them. He nudges Louis' cheek with his nose and finally gets his place nuzzled into the sweet powerhouse  
of his neck.

"The temperature has not changed, haud mirum." Little rumbles and Harry's calloused fingertips repeatedly  
rub Louis' tummy pudge. "Hot flushes is a symptom of your body preparing to take care of my pups for nine  
months. You are...very pregnant, my lover."


	8. chapter Eight

Louis has been ill for three days, treading dangerously to the cliff edge of self destruction.

He had severe fatigue on the first day when Harry diagnosed him as in fact pregnant, not being able to wake  
up from their couch beyond the hoisting and shifting Harry did for him. The boy coughed and sneezed all day  
long with a festively red nose and irritably scratchy throat that Harry left laden with kisses every opportunity  
he got.

The entire duration of that dull, stormy Thursday comprised of Harry spending every waking minute beside his  
ailing mate filled with dread and concern. He kept him topped up with fluids and forced him to eat even when  
Louis' stubborn streak shone through. The Dominus held him close in sleep and hoped that their intimacy will  
transmit to his unborn.

All he ever thought about when given the opportunity was Louis pregnant then having to give birth, bringing  
his beautiful little first-born into the world. He already vowed to be a completely dedicated and devote father  
to that baby, cherish it and his mate so much more with all he had to offer. From dawn to dusk he will serve  
the whims of his family.

A Dominus sought all their lives to build their bloodline and create a lineage, starting from finding their mates  
to making the products of their love and commitment. Harry was no different of course and was most eager to  
accomplish what is most fulfilling and beautiful thing in a Dominus' life.

The second day of Louis knowing he's pregnant comprised of majority of the day spent kneeling over the  
toilet. He couldn't keep down more than what the underdeveloped foetus he was carrying wanted to obtain  
nutrition from. When Harry walked in at one point with a tall glass of warm milk, he found Louis slouched  
against the bathtub almost asleep with a hand caressing where his bump will form.

Day three was the most uneventful and Harry was so grateful for it because the time could be spent making  
sure Louis recuperated. He made certain that the boy was in bed all day, eating and drinking what's beneficial  
for him, before he joined him for their midnight cuddle.

Outside the snow was worsening and Harry had checked through a window to see the depth of it before he  
sealed them, screwing his jaw shut at noticing that it had barricaded a quarter of their front door. He never  
told Louis and just checked on the fireplace once more before rejoining the overly fond boy in front of it.

"Are you excited?" Louis asked with a giggle after his Dominus crawled forward on his front, burying his face  
in Louis' tummy with apt fingers massaging his hips.

"I can't describe how I feel about this little one." Harry's words were muffled by where he branded them, plump  
lips sliding across the pudge of Louis' front as he concentrated on giving that area attention. "I wish it were  
possible to hold my baby now."

"The time will fly by, my love." Carding through Harry's hair and straightening it out between his  
shoulderblades, Louis smiled with hearts in his eyes at the circumstance he was part of. "Why do you think I  
got pregnant so quickly?"

His question was a legitimate one for mated pairs took close to a year before actually conceiving a life. It just  
has always been that way so Louis was curious to know how they took three days tops.

"You are very fertile, haud mirum." Harry stated with a lopsided smirk intended just for the blush of his darling  
mate, shielding Louis' body as he pulled himself up higher for a languid kiss. "How is my baby behaving?"

"You asked me that ten minutes ago." Louis reminded him amidst his laughter, eyes crinkling and the tint of  
blue brightening. "Our baby is still too little, my love."

Harry brought his hand up to where Louis' rested over the spot where his baby would grow, covering the boy's  
hand entirely. "What about you, beloved? Do you need anything?"  
Louis shakes his head and smiles in that especially nervous way that made Harry want to bundle him up for  
loving. The Dominus could only smother him in kisses on his bond mark and cheek, face hiding in the juncture  
of his shoulder to breathe heavily and feel his baby. His mate's arms circled his shoulders and anchored  
himself with a contented sigh.  
"Not anymore."

* * * * *

After being stuck in front of the television for far too long, Louis desired some physical movement more than a  
bowl of ice cream. He woke up from the couch and covered his belly that hasn't grown since the last time he  
tried checking for development, as it always lay bare now for Harry's convenience to nuzzle the warm skin.  
"What are you doing, haud mirum?" Harry stirred something in a pot on the gas stove when Louis made his  
way into the kitchen, hooking his chin over Harry's shoulder.

The Dominus was amused and his dimples proved that when he slightly turned his head to kiss Louis'  
forehead. "Does my other baby want something?"

Louis grinned and tried to hide his blush in Harry's bicep. It didn't work because the Dominus roped him in by  
his waist and planted a very hard kiss on his bond mark, leaving a damp spot behind. Settling comfortably into  
Harry's side, Louis peered into the pot and salivated at the smell of beef cooking.  
"What are you making?" He asked with sweater paws trying to push his fringe away. 

Harry held up the wooden spoon for him to sample, the close to red gravy getting sampled by Louis. "It's a  
kind of mild curry."

"I like it." Louis declared before gluing himself to Harry's side and wrapping his arms around him. "When will it  
be ready?"

"Are you hungry now, haud mirum?" Harry's lips were at his temple, his hand rubbing over Louis' back.  
Louis nodded and kept his face hidden, easily tucking himself in under Harry's chin even where they stood. His  
fingers curled into the fabric of the jersey Harry wore and he sniffled from the faint swirls of the cold wind  
brandishing his ankles. Harry had a thing for how dainty and cute every feature of Louis' was, always holding  
onto as much of his mate as possible in light and darkness.

"We have pasta from last night." Harry set the wooden spoon down and embraced his mate. "Does that meet  
your fancy?"

He got the lovely boy in his arms to giggle. "Yes please."

Harry bent his knees, masking the flinch he makes from the feeling of his prosthetic gyrating against the  
stump of his leg. He picks Louis up by his thighs and let's him hang on like a koala bear, making his way to  
the counter where he deposits his lover. Louis sits on the narrow surface with his feet dangling above the  
ground, feeling warmer near the stove and his lover.

The Dominus need not ask how much Louis would like because he's a professional at deducing such facts. He  
finds a suitable plate and fills it with their refrigerated pasta from the previous day, popping it in the  
microwave with extra grated cheese for five minutes.

Louis has one hand flat on his tummy when Harry turns around, the other one supporting his weight as he  
leans against the pillar. Worried, Harry takes a stride closer and cups Louis' cheek to check his temperature or  
something but the boy smiles reassuringly and kisses Harry's palm.

"You worry too much, my love. Everything is fine." Louis tells him with his legs parted so that Harry may step  
between them.

Harry rests his forehead on Louis' and briefly closes his eyes to revel in the twice altered intoxicant that is his  
mate's scent. "My duty is clear when it comes to you and now this little one. I must worry."  
"Nope. You'll get yourself grey early or worse-" Louis twirls a lock of Harry's extensive curl around his index  
and tugs. "-bald."

* * * * *

After supper when the only source of light the couple had came from the fireplace because the lamps and  
lights were off, the windows sealed shut. Harry was not paranoid and instead rather overly prepared. He  
switched everything unnecessary off and joined Louis in their make-shift nest consisting of pillows of blankets  
on their mattress on the floor.

"Why this game, haud mirum?" Harry frowned at the animated board that's been opened up and laid out  
between them. He hated it already. 

"Have you played this before?" Louis asks, chewing his own lip to block the sound his constricting heart  
muscle will make when it tightens in sympathy.

"No." Harry picks up a playing piece and studies it. "What is it?"

Louis explains the rules of 'Snakes & Ladders' to Harry whilst sharing with the man his love and awe. Harry  
didn't know about most things that existed outside this current small world and Louis found himself endeared  
by being the one to teach him.

"It doesn't...-" Harry trails off as he eyes the playing die in distrust. "It doesn't seem very challenging."  
"That's the great part." Louis beams about it. "It isn't."

"But-" Harry's brows come together in a frown that's deep and contemplative. "Why play it then?"

"For fun, my love." Louis replies, already picking his bead as yellow. It's a lovely neutral colour. "Ready to play?"

They get past two turns for each before Harry gets bored and would rather have Louis throw a popcorn at him  
everytime it was his turn rather than just pay attention. Every corn segment lands on some part of himself,  
which he picks up and pops into his mouth.

He's lying down on his back with his head in Louis' lap and arms at his sides where he held onto his mate's  
hands. Louis eventually gave up on the board game as well and paid attention to his Dominus with small pecks  
and Eskimo kisses.

"What would you like to do?" Louis ran his smaller palms down Harry's front and stopped at his belly button,  
leaning down close to take in Harry's smile.

"I used to want many things." When Harry had Louis' fingers laced with his, he gave each knuckle a kiss. "Just  
you and this baby is more than enough for me now."

"So-" Louis antagonises his Dominus by elongating the syllable. "-you mean that you've settled?"

"Absolutely not." Harry blinks up at him, scandalized. "Haud mirum, that is not what I meant."

"I know." His mate giggles at his expense and pecks the tip of Harry's nose with a playful smile. "Let's do  
something, Harry. I'm bored."  
Harry's smirk grew from subtle to obvious and Louis had to physically cover his face in order to conceal his  
blush.

"Not that!" He cried with a laugh to trail it off, shaking his head when Harry tried revealing his hidden visage.  
"Come on, haud mirum." Harry futilely coaxed with a gentle, sultry voice as he wrapped his hands around  
Louis' wrists. "Let me see you."

Louis refused and turned away with a louder laugh threatening to bubble out of him from Harry's persistence.  
He felt the restraints around his hands remove themselves and a bit of rustling that tempted him to peek  
through his fingers. Louis convinced himself that he is stronger than that and will not give in.  
He gasped through those barriers when he heard Harry's voice again, spoken like a whispering gentleman to  
his tummy. 

"It seems like your mother is ignoring me, vegrandis mirum. Do you have any advice for me?" Harry says to the  
growing miracle sleeping in Louis' womb. "Speak to him, little one."

He's smiling from the graze of his teeth on Louis' skin and the latter feels unmistakably overwhelmed with  
emotion. Louis' hand cradles the back of Harry's head after lowering it from his face, unable to postpone  
matching his smile to Harry's. Their happiness came from the little life he will have depend on him for the next  
nine months.

"What does it mean?" Louis asks about the name Harry used to address their unborn. "Vegrandis mirum?"  
First, Harry's lips twitch smugly into a pleased suppressed grin before lifting himself up with the strain of his  
arms. He presses those lips to Louis' and feels an electric shock speed through the finest nerves in his body  
from the spark ignited by them.

"Parvulus es, haud mirum. Gloria nostra est nimis, vegrandis. Vegrandis mirum." Harry's use of another  
language makes it far more exquisite and silky when the Dominus recites it against Louis' lips. "You are small,  
beloved. Haud mirum. Our baby is very little. Tiny. Vegrandis mirum."  
* * * * *  
A week went by smoothly in their sacred cottage where the wheels of their lives spun from in love to far more.  
Harry had an abundance of chopped wood that he had stacked and allocated before winter began, which kept  
the fire and stove going. The snow was out of control outside and blocked the surface area up to half of their  
door if either one was to open it. They were already partially snowed in and the days were so dull that neither  
could tell the difference between night and day.

Louis enjoyed the isolation very much and he made his Dominus happy by not erupting into a fit of lacking  
gratitude. He got to accompany Harry up into the prestige attic when the Dominus deemed that the day would  
not get any brighter and he'd start fidgeting with restlessness soon.

Sitting on a blanket on the ground, Louis had a box of trinkets at his feet that he sorted through while Harry  
handed the bigger equipment. There was not a lot to handle and it almost scared Louis as much as it  
saddened him.  
"Haud mirum?"

"I'm okay." Louis laughed softly and answered automatically. His Dominus has been an ol' bucket of sap and  
over-protectiveness recently.

Harry went back to sifting through miscellaneous nonsense with an old plaid shirt that left all his muscles on  
display through the nearly transparent material. Louis is no longer ashamed to say he was the one to beg that  
the Dominus wear it.

After an hour of Russian nesting dolls and a ball of yarn with two knitting needles sticking out, Louis picks up  
a leather bound journal. He picks at the golden crescent lock for a while with his fingers, trailing them over the  
embroidered designs that were intricate and beautiful. The intrigue to read what was in the diary nearly made  
Louis a buzzing lightbulb of energy.

"What's this?" He asks the only other occupant of the room, not looking up from his fascination.   
He hears heavy footing coming closer and is forced to raise his head because this must be important enough  
to get Harry over here. The Dominus looks hooded and a little intimidating from his hunched height, naturally  
dark eyes made more frightening by the lack of lighting.

"My old journal." Harry crouches by Louis' side and knocks the box he was working with aside, taking the  
desirable out of his mate's paws carefully. "I thought it was lost. Where did you find it?"  
"In there." Louis gestures to the box, head tilting to the side as he studied the Dominus' emotions that  
fleetingly swept over his features. "Did I do something wrong?"

Harry's gaze snaps up to him and they soften from adoration and fondness. "Not even close, haud mirum. I am  
thankful that you found this."

Louis beamed and went with it when Harry's lips swooped lower to smash his, giggling into it whilst reaching  
up to thumb at the man's earlobes. He felt a curve take to Harry's mouth and teeth clashing in their kiss from  
the giddiness travelling between them.

Having to pull himself away, Harry secures the side of Louis' neck to place a firm kiss over his bond mark on  
the opposite side. He breathes out once in a way that blew hot, rough exhaled air over Louis' skin to give him  
goosebumps.

"Wait, wait." Louis pushes Harry away by his shoulders and it takes a while to get done. "Who would have put it  
up here for you to think it was lost?"

"My brother." Harry gets to his feet and takes Louis with him, keeping a secure arm around his mate who is in  
a fragile state. "He thought I needed his help and wanted to behave as if I were a charity case. I was insulted  
and refused to take anything. My journal was with him from the time before our training. One day when I was  
out hunting he left everything up here."

Louis listens to the story with a bitten lip and pricking ears. He holds onto the back of Harry's shirt with a  
closed fist as he hops down the last step, right into his Dominus' hold again.  
"I'm sorry." He said softly, tucking Harry's hair behind his ear and smiling comfortingly.  
A Dominus was superior for none other than the reasons of their genetic coding to be proud and selfsufficient. Even a Dominus as humble as Harry will not accept help from another under any circumstances. By  
Jeremiah offering to assist his brother all he did was offend him. The psychology of it never rang sensible in  
Louis' head but he figures he isn't a Dominus and doesn't understand.

"I'm going to check on the horses." Harry disrupts his train of thought and sets Louis down on his own feet.  
"Stay warm by the fire until I return,haud mirum."

Louis takes a chance and salutes Harry before spinning around on his heel to descend the staircase. The  
Dominus shook his head as he chuckled and went down behind him, turning left rather the straight ahead  
direction Louis took.

Ten minutes apart and the cottage goes dark. Harry had been ensuring the water was warm enough without  
being distasteful for the horses to drink, and Louis was fidgeting with Harry's journal whilst mumbling about  
the struggle to the unprepared little ears of his baby. It was not even a flicker to warn them before the  
generator gave out and they were plunged into absolute darkness, no lamps or candles lit either.   
"Harry?!" Louis has been afraid of the dark for as long as he can remember and being alone in it now with the  
cries of howling wind and wild animals loose outside to complement it terrifies him. "Harry!"

"I'm here, haud mirum. Don't be afraid." The familiar warmth and feel of a hand on Louis' shoulder made the  
boy relax instantly. "Stand up for me, love."

Louis let his feet touch the ground and stood as instructed, Harry's palms sliding over his hips to stop just  
above the curve of his bum. Through the pitch blackness Louis blushed still and leaned forward into his  
Dominus. He wrapped himself up in Harry's scent and breathed it in, feeling an eternity of security with his  
lover.

Two unorthodox clicks later and Harry had a cigarette lighter held up next to their faces. It illuminated just  
about enough for them and Louis discovered that the darkness was only scary because Harry wasn't with him  
in it. The nerves settle and the hype of his worry drowns itself.

"Were you frightened?" Harry is assuring his mate that he won't ever be leaving his side by thumbing gently  
over his fleshy hip.

"A little." Louis doesn't feel like admitting it now that he is where he is, with whom he'd like to be with most.  
He can smell the staleness of hay and dust on Harry's shirt, scrunching up his nose at how awful the  
combination is. Once no longer bothered by the circumstance they're in, he reaches up to snap the lighter shut  
so it's just the crackle of a dead fireplace and their breathing left.

"It's alright, my lover." Harry gives Louis' shoulders a squeeze and kisses his temple, attuned to the boy's body  
even when he can't see any of it. "I'm with you now."

* * * * *

The lights stayed off for as long as Harry deemed would be safe. He would set up the gasoline generator by  
the hearth when he absolutely had to because this winter is bound to an extensive one and the last thing he'd  
want for Louis and his baby was low resources. Louis got out a packet of marshmallows from the pantry, one  
of three he bought during their last grocery shopping expedition, and a slab of chocolate.

He crosses his legs when he sits down next to Harry, a permanent hand over his pudge that was now home to  
another life. His Dominus gave him a kiss and added to his hand with his own, fanning his longer fingers out  
over Louis'. They speared the marshmallows with wooden skewer sticks, holding over the tallest orange flame  
and leaning against each other.

Outside was calmer than most winter nights when the weather was a level of outstanding when it came to  
being deplorable. Harry had built their home to be strong enough to withstand any power of the wind but the  
noises of its force on trees and loose objects outside was spooky. The moon shone directly through their  
window and cast a long patterned image on the ground, disappearing when the clouds eclipsed the light.  
"I don't like silence when it comes to you, haud mirum." Harry kissed his mate's forehead and picked apart his  
roasted marshmallow. "Tell me anything I don't know about you."

"Well-" Louis' two fingertips are made messy when he tries to figure out which way to eat the marshmallow. He  
pouts at the ruined white puffy treat.

"Allow me." Harry chuckled in harmless mockery and set his stick down to take Louis'.   
He pulls little chunks off and feeds his mate with the boy tucked under his arm, turning his head to nuzzle  
Harry's shoulder whenever he was chewing. Harry would kiss his forehead when there's more ready and Louis  
would blush every time like it was a fresh experience for him, trying to be chaste when sucking the melted  
marshmallow off Harry's sticky fingers.

"Tell me." Harry urged, bumping his nose into Louis' jaw. He wanted to know everything that had to do or  
could be associated with his lovely other half.

"I used to lose my stuff a lot. In school. At home." Louis confesses the first thing that comes to mind with a  
small shrug. "What about you?"  
"Did I lose my 'stuff'?"

"No." Louis giggles and tastes more of the slightly burnt marshmallow. "Tell me something exciting about  
you."

"Haud mirum, you have seen everything there is to know or see about me already." Harry makes Louis think of  
the experience in the yard when Harry came forth in his wolf form and dropped a doe at his feet.  
"Your wolf is beautiful, you know." Louis tells him quietly whilst picking at the tiny buttons of the Dominus'  
shirt. "I've never seen many wolves like you but I'm sure you're the scariest."  
"You find me scary?" Harry blinks as he tries to understand.

"Scary is good." Louis insists, crawling his way onto Harry's lap and feels the best in comfort he's ever felt. He  
let's out a happy sigh and Harry captures his waist with residual fingers under his shirt. "I like when you  
become all Alpha-like and scary."

Astounded and quite confused, Harry's eyebrows rise to meet his hairline as he stares down at his peculiar  
mate. "You have never seen me....all Alpha-like and scary, haud mirum."  
"I don't think I'll have to." Louis' fingertip operates on small circle traced on Harry's bicep. "The baby thinks  
you're more like a Papa Bear."

"I must be." Harry smiles and crosses his legs so Louis cradled between his thighs. "I am a Papa Bear."  
Louis was content with hugging Harry's neck and moulding himself to the Dominus in every way. He closed his  
eyes when he felt Harry's fingers bothering the knots at the base of his spine, dexterous and concentrated  
appendages massaging the uncomfortable region.

"You're a Papa Wolf." Louis corrects, the sass getting very real very fast and making Harry growl teasingly into  
his bond mark. "Much better than a bear."  
"Oh really?" Harry's smirk is benign and oh so attractive that the craters of his deep dimples made Louis'  
cheeks heat up.

"Yes." Louis leaned over and modestly pecked his Dominus' cheek, smiling into it when he felt Harry's dimples  
on his lips.

Harry has Louis on centre stage, arms roped around his sweetheart with their fingers interlocked and Louis  
wrapped around him. When the boy giggles, he chuckles to complement the gorgeous sound before returning  
any kiss he got. From his lips to his forehead and jaw, Louis was no stranger to being innocently affectionate.   
"Daddy wolf." Louis murmurs, close to dreamily when he hears Harry growling in approval of the name. "I like  
it too."

The sound that comes from his Dominus is something between a grumble and muted howl, appeased by the  
proceedings. "Remember that, haud mirum, because a fathering wolf will only yield to the mother of his pups."

* * * * *

"My love."

"Harry?"

"Dominus, please." Louis pouts needily at his partner who won't give him any attention.  
Rolling over from where he was almost asleep, Harry let Louis crawl onto his chest once he was laying down.  
The boy sneezed and brought half a dozen blankets with him, nestled perfectly into Harry's embrace with a  
kiss on his lips and pink cheeks.

"What's wrong, beloved?" Harry's palms trail over the path of Louis' curled back, one stopping to rest over his  
very vague baby pudge. "Do you not feel well?"

"No." Louis whimpers with a sniffle and squeezes his eyes shut to crush the feeling of falling down from  
extravagant heights. "I feel dizzy."

Harry cooes and tightens his arms protectively. "I'd take the discomfort from you in a heartbeat, haud mirum."

"I know." His mate managed a smile. "I love you."

"I love you." Harry bumped their noses together.

Louis winced at another restless sensation of twisting air bubbles in his gut made him whimper. His Dominus  
comforted him with the sweetest whispered nothings and tiny peppered kisses all over his face before they  
were both too exhausted to stay up any longer.  
It's been a full two weeks of winter destroying the atmosphere outside, dropping the temperatures to subzero without the confines of their home. Harry often checked the windows and doors to make sure there were

no discrepancies, thusly avoiding any unwarranted catastrophes. Louis slept for most of the day because  
growing a wolf hybrid for a pup was as tiring as any pregnancy.

He ate more then four meals a day and had rosy skin at all hours of the day, the softest skin that Harry got to  
caress with his hands and lips. Louis got irritable at some points and would walk around the house from  
window to window, peeking outside where his Dominus hadn't boarded the shutters so it could not open. The  
snow was well over the windows on one side of the house where Harry kept the windows and vents sealed,  
allowing the Dominus more time to see the outside before the other side would soon be closed off too.  
From the nearby post in the kitchen where Harry is preparing two plates of sandwiches for lunch, he calls for  
Louis. "Haud mirum?" 

A short breath later and there's a pair of thin, frail arms around his waist. The Dominus manages to kiss Louis  
on the lips and taste his sticky sugary lips before drawing him closer to the subject at hand.  
"I want mustard on mine please." Louis went to the fridge and fetched the transparent glass jar himself with a  
butter knife for convenience.

Although a disgusting combination for Harry, he did as told and smeared some of the yellow-green sauce  
onto a dry slice of bread. Louis took the knife and swiped his finger over one end for the remnants of sour  
mustard, unpredictedly moaning when he tasted it. Harry's system keeled over for a moment before he could  
recover from the sensational and arousing sound.

"I thought I might open my diary today." Harry says after clearing his throat and trying to successfully slap  
cheese slices onto the bread.  
"The old one?" Louis stole one of the cheese slices to nibble on, a flattened hand over his tummy under his  
shirt. Harry sacrifices the slice from his sandwich.  
"Yes." He closes everything up and starts cleaning after himself.  
"That's maybe a good idea." His mate supplies with an impartial shrug, hopping up on the counter to sit.  
"Maybe?"

"It could go either way, I mean." Louis tries to clarify, swinging his socked feet back and forth. "What if you  
don't like what you read in there? Don't you remember anything?"  
Harry pauses to answer, hand on the top of the fridge. "Not entirely, no."  
"See." Louis rings his fingers together. "But if I were you, I'd open it just for the equally sized chance that it  
could all be good."

They look at each other while Harry thinks about how in love he is with this magnificent boy, who has a  
wonderful mind and beautiful exterior. No Dominus is as lucky as he is, it must have been written in the stars  
thousands of generations ago when they lived a previous life together.  
Harry decides not to bother with the diary for the moment and it goes to prove that he is in fact a slave to his  
wolf, for thirty minutes after that happening he's got Louis on his back writhing in pleasure calling out his  
name.

Soft like his entire being, these breathless gasps come from Louis' licked parted lips. He has his screwed shut  
and his begging in a string of words to be taken, loved and sated. Harry's body cloaks his smaller one  
completely, loud rumbles and possessive growls coming from him as he sucks on the flushed skin around  
their bond mark.

"H-Har- My love, please." Louis choked on the air his lungs fought to inhale, nails digging into Harry's strong  
shoulders.  
"Say it, beloved." Harry said through clenched jaws, thrusting once for emphasis into Louis' tight heat. "Say my  
name."

Louis sobbed from the ruining pleasure and threw his head back, exposing more of his throat that Harry's  
teeth and tongue attack fervently. Marks are left scattered all over his upper half from sharp teeth and hungry  
lips. Harry moves his hips in slow, purposeful thrusts. He wants to convey his love with everything he did this   
time, his unbuttoned shirt still hanging off his rippling shoulders and Louis' sweater ridden up to press their  
bare abdomens together.

Harry could stay inside his lover for an eternity, feeling only this complete and full of belonging when he's  
desperately burying himself in the boy's body. He felt Louis all around him, walls throbbing and clenching  
from their soreness as a result of two prior orgasms. His wolf didn't care and his knot was forming for a  
second time that afternoon, only the light of the fire left to illuminate their amorous doings.  
"Say it." He snarled not viciously, dragging his tongue over Louis' clavicle and lapping at the gathering taste  
left for him.

"H-Harry." Louis croaked, leaving bright red scratches down Harry's back as he gathered the fabric of his shirt  
and scraped his skin for grounding.  
"Louder." Harry demanded, hips starting to pivot wildly to bruise Louis' insides and punch his prostate to  
deliver maddeningly satisfying bursts throughout his body.

"O-Oh my-" Louis' tongue couldn't form words with remnants of his Dominus still on it. "Pl-Please, Harry!"  
Harry's large, rough palms slid down Louis' supple form and circled his thighs, hiking them up onto his own  
and moving faster. His thrusts became hard and brutal, marking up Louis on the inside with using up his slick  
and staining the tunnel with flowing precome. Each snap of his left Louis' bum red and bruised, hard muscle  
slamming against his softness. Back arched and fingers curled, Louis came with a loud cry and Harry's mouth  
on his puffy nipple.

The sound of such sated circumstance made Harry's knot pop deep inside his mate, still able to do so however  
not producing half as much seed as he would if Louis weren't pregnant. A wolf was engineered to ensure the  
survival of their kind and that they would treasure most what is truly important to them. If a Dominus  
produced the same amount of seed to offer their mate whilst the latter is pregnant, the current baby could be  
severely affected.

Harry now had to take care of his mate and smiled when Louis blushed up at him, winking discreetly to hear  
the boy gasp. With a bark of laughter he leaned down and covered Louis' mouth with his, taking over the  
control of their deepening kiss and getting them sorted in a more comfortable position.  
Louis made the time to completely strip Harry of his shirt to the amusement of them both. He sighed happily  
and let the Dominus rest on him for a while, head on his chest.

"Do you know, haud mirum, that I cannot remember a life before you and now my baby?" Harry had his paw  
over Louis' tummy where their pup was, feeling the energy of a third life.  
His mate had been combing through his lengthy curls. "Me neither."


	9. chapter Nine

Winter's end came to them when Harry predicted it would. He felt their home becoming far too unstable under  
the weight and influence of the snow caging their home in. On the first day of Spring when the sun first shone  
through the animal infested treetops and the icicles on branches began to melt, Harry got up on the roof  
through the attic and dug out a pathway from the door. 

It took him six hours to get some area of the ground visible again. Louis stayed indoors just like he was asked  
and took stock of all their resources that needed replenishing. At one point he was at the window watching  
Harry working outside, and waved when the Dominus caught his eye. He got a wink and chuckle everytime.

They had a lot of groceries to buy and plenty of equipment to get for Harry to restore what was damaged  
during the winter. On the second day of the brightest spring season Harry has ever seen, he sat on the floor of  
their bedroom unscrewing the hinges on the remaining two legs of their bed. He had to let the legs go in order  
for the flat structure to rest entirely on the ground, just a plush mattress on a wooden frame.

Louis opened all the windows and let the sunlight in, smiling to himself with a hand on his vaguely pregnant  
belly as the rays of beautiful light hit his skin and warmed it up.

"That's the world, my baby." He said softly to the little one he was carrying, listening to the birds and wild  
harmless animals making the best of their days. "You're going to see it very soon."

He heard a loud bang and gasped out loud from the shock of it, clutching his chest once it's over. Without  
thinking, Louis made for the staircase and entered their bedroom to find Harry already dismantled their bed.

"What was that sound?" He asks, stepping further into the room with a shy smile at his Dominus.

The Dominus looked up with his bare feet alongside his tool kit and let Louis get comfortable on the ground  
next to him. Their floors weren't so chilling anymore and Louis often sat on it rather than couches, much to  
Harry's confusion.

"I assumed this would be better." Harry replies with a cheeky grin, gesturing to the fallen bed with the  
mattress they brought up already.

Louis blushed and leans into Harry's side smiling into the man's bicep when he got a kiss on his forehead. "I  
like it."

"I am glad." Harry's arms circle Louis' body and draw him onto his lap, their legs getting tangled and Louis'  
face hiding in his neck. "How is my baby treating you, haud mirum?"

"Baby is okay." Louis fondly answers, bringing Harry's hand to his tummy where the Dominus could feel the  
additional soul and life form developing. "We both want to go outside."

Harry looks out the gaping window over Louis' shoulder. The wind is still a little on the chilly side and the  
snow was in the process of steadily melting away but they're nothing an extra layer of clothing can't fend off.

"Your wish is my command, haud mirum." Harry drops a sweet peck on his bond mark and doesn't make an  
effort to get up yet.

He leans his back against the bed and bends his fully capable knee in the air, Louis resting his side on it. The  
boy sighs from content and his finger traces the faint marks on Harry's shirt over his chest, in love with the  
toned and muscular exterior of his broader lover.

"How about a trip into town today?" Louis proposes with his fingers wrapped around Harry's middle finger, the  
size difference being a lethal anecdote to the Dominus. "Please? I really want to walk around somewhere."

Harry is not a real mate or Dominus to his lovely other half if he dare ever say no to him. "We'll take the horses  
out and then go into town, okay?"   
Louis smiles so brightly it contends with the sunlight and kisses Harry hard with arms locked around his neck.  
"Thank you. I love you."  
"I love you too, haud mirum." Harry bumps their noses together and smiles when Louis giggles under his  
breath.

They work together to tidy up everything that needs the attention and bring the horses outside for fresh air.  
Louis sits on the wooden fence with his legs hooked over the lower log, watching Harry brush through the  
stallion's mane while the mare trotted around the odd feeling grounds. She clearly noticed a change in what  
used to be their platform of safety in the outdoors.

Louis was surprised when she made her way over with perfect strides, stopping when her head was cradled in  
his hands. With his laughter and her continually bumping his shoulder for attention, Louis learned to love this  
magnificent creature.

"What's her name?" Louis asked Harry, who was observing the interaction from a few meters away.  
The Dominus left the male counterpart to wander off close by. "I never named them."  
"Why not?" Louis' lips formed an 'O', placing a kiss between the two large eyes looking back at him. "She's a  
beauty."

"She's not as young as she used to be." Harry tells his mate with a sad smile, petting his horse's strong neck  
with his whole hand. "She lost her baby a year ago."

"Oh no." Louis felt especially dispirited after hearing that, rubbing the mare's soft ear and listening to her huff  
against his knee. Her heart was so much more fierce than his. "You poor thing."

"She's a strong one." Harry tried to uplift the mood that settled over them, pulling on her bridle to turn her  
towards him. "Aren't you, girl?"

As if to answer him, the mare neighs and nudges his shoulder suddenly to nudge him suddenly. He barks out  
a fond laugh and let's her go back to the other four-legged occupant of their pen. Louis smiles when Harry  
approaches him, getting picked up off the fence and lowered to the ground with caution.

"Where are we going?" His mate asks when Harry takes his hand leads him back onto the cottage's short porch.  
"We are going to get dressed." Harry answers him, shutting the front door behind them and turning around to  
hoist Louis up into the air, effortlessly settling his thighs on his hips. "I'm taking my babies where they want to  
go."

Louis nearly screams from all the sudden movements and grabs onto Harry with both hands, his fingers  
scraping the Dominus' shirt fabric and his face hiding in Harry's neck. "Do I count as your baby too?"  
"Certainly." Harry's sneaky hands snake their way down to his bum, banding like steel around that precious  
territory as he moved.

Settling in comfortably to his Dominus' arms around him, protecting him and his baby, Louis could close his  
eyes and inhale the warm spice scent of his lover. It should come to an end once Harry has reached their  
bedroom upstairs but the man can't bring himself to let go of Louis when the boy is so soft, gentle wrapped  
up in him. 

Instead, Harry presses his lips against Louis' softer ones for the briefest moment and sits at the foot of the  
bed. He'll be delaying their trip into town by possibly hours but he couldn't bring himself to care when he's got  
such a sweet sight so near to him, mixing with his scent.

"'arry?" Louis' voice was muffled by him nuzzling Harry's neck affectionately, thin fingers drumming to his  
heartbeat.

"Yes, haud mirum?" Harry answers his mumbles with a small kiss just for him, placed on Louis' temple.  
First his mate yawned and his fingers fanned out to a stretch, then he curled himself up again on Harry's lap.  
"When are we leaving?"  
Harry chuckled. "Is Baby making you sleepy, haud mirum?"

"No." Louis shakes his head and blinks away the tiredness because he desperately wants to bask in the outside  
world for a while. "Baby and I want to go out."

"Alright then." Harry gets up and lays Louis down on his back on the very low mattress, dropping a chaste kiss  
to the pale skin below Louis' belly button for his little one.

Over the duration of ten minutes, Harry keeps himself stripped down to his tiny boxers - Louis' favourite pair  
on him - while he dresses his lounging mate in clothing. Louis isn't lazy as he doesn't allow himself to ever get  
that way but Harry chooses to spoil his mate whenever he can, like in instances such as this when he wants to  
just adorn Louis' body himself.

The accomplishment he has to his name is that Louis feels safe and loved enough around him to not shy away  
when either one of them were to be in the nude. Completely or midway, Louis found the courage to let Harry's  
hands roam his perfect little body without any reservations plaguing his mind.

"I do not think it would be fair and wise to go outside today." Harry says with a rumble from his chest, his  
visage blocked from where he hides it in Louis' front. "I'd much rather spend the rest of my days right here,  
haud mirum."

Louis rests a hand at the back of Harry's head and his fingernails scratch lightly at his scalp. He is also  
appeased by their present circumstance and appreciates that his Dominus desires the same figure of laziness  
as he. The little life taking comfort and safety inside is no different, half Harry and half him to make the  
perfect newborn.

"Do you remember a little boutique next to the retail grocery store?" Louis asks absentmindedly, a spark of  
interest ignited when he remembers his first thoughts after seeing that boutique.

It had been the first and only time thus far Harry took Louis into town for stocking of their supplies before the  
winter season. They only went to the essential stores but of course, Louis' eyes had wandered and they landed  
on this particular boutique with a pink banner and glass windows to display skimpiest mannequins.  
"Which boutique, haud mirum?" Harry is puzzled as to what his mate is talking about, and looks up at him with  
a furrowed brow of inquisition.

Louis is mildly smug that his Dominus can't remember because considering his intentions he wants to keep it  
a secret up until he's gotten through with his plan.

* * * * * 

Louis is fidgety the whole hour-long drive down the snowy, dodgy path to the highway leading to town. He sat  
in the front with the heater on and crossed his legs on the seat, holding Harry's hand over the console whilst  
staring out the window. Trees were just recovering from the brutal frost of the past winter and like them,  
people were finally coming outside to enjoy the beauty of spring.

Already flowers were blooming and adding colour to the gloominess of an otherwise sad territory. Pink and  
pastel blues all around. Louis wanted to stop and touch each one but he wanted to get into town even more.  
As they reached the toll gate that they always had to pass before getting into town, Louis tasted the cool air on  
his tongue when Harry opened his window. He leaned over to the Dominus' seat and kissed his cheek for no  
apparent reason before Harry dealt with the transaction at hand.

"You seem excited today, haud mirum." Harry teased with a faint chuckle and squeeze to Louis' smaller hand  
in his.

"I haven't been outside in nearly three months." Louis simply replied, resting his Dominus' palm on his thigh.  
As one would guess, he's wearing his comfortable sleeping pants with little black butterflies on them rather  
than presentable clothing. Due to their mating being so fresh even now, Harry and he almost always slept  
naked anyway.

"So long as you do not talk to strangers-" Harry pulled into a parking space closest to the complex with  
everything they needed. "-I look forward to seeing more of this mood from you."

Louis was antsy and brave enough to stick his tongue out at Harry, squeaking when the Dominus pinches his  
thigh. He pouts with memorable fondness in Harry's eye whenever he watches the boy carrying his pup.  
Jumping off first, Harry opens Louis' door for him and helps him down unnecessarily by encasing his waist  
with one arm.

"It's not nice to show off." Louis tells him, no truth behind his words at all. In fact all there was were hearts and  
him embracing Harry for warmth. Maybe he should have worn two pants.

"What do you mean?" Harry frowns adorably as he tries to think over what he's done to provoke showing off  
anything.

"Nothing, my love." Louis thumbs away the creases on his forehead and wiggles his way free. "Can we do the  
laundry first?"

Harry grunts and comes around the back to help Louis carry the bags of laundry they have to do. It's odd that  
they even have clothing left to wear when all of it seems to be in these baskets. The Dominus takes three  
quarters of the load during two runs and only let's Louis carry one hamper because he's pregnant and  
shouldn't be straining anything.

They book three washing machines just for themselves and Louis, having already sorted out the clothes,  
tosses them in with the right amount of soap before stacking their baskets up and leaving it aside. Harry  
comes in after making a call to the only doctor in town to book an appointment for Louis, walking over to his  
mate through the other customers.

"We will be visiting Dr. Phoenix in an hour." Harry informs him, helping Louis hop down from his perch on one  
of the dryers.

"We?" Louis raises his eyebrow, his wild scent of the freshest flowers and vanilla intoxicating Harry's senses.   
"Yes. This little one-" The Dominus stops Louis from gathering his coat and lays his palm over the boy's  
tummy where their baby rested, his chest curved to fit his mate against him. He kisses Louis' temple. "-and my  
other little love."

Louis' blushing and trying to dodge Harry's kisses whilst still in need of them, laughing softly in their private  
bubble when the Dominus releases a loud exhale into his neck. It tickles his skin and leaves goosebumps to  
rest on the surface.  
"Stop, my love." He tries to alert his mate that there are other people around, prying eyes that are going to  
take notice of them.

Harry fails to obey and growls in a manner that alerts Louis he isn't going to listen. He stills his mate with both  
steely arms and nips at their bond mark once, twice. The Dominus finds great comfort and reassurance from  
doing this, thusly leading to his constant stream of affectionate acts upon it.

Their tiny room that's one of many in this laundromat becomes thick with the air they're breathing, laced and  
charged with their energy. Harry's large paws grip Louis' hips and his face buries itself in the boy's neck, tip of  
his cold nose pressed to his jugular. He breathes with Louis, let's their hearts beat in the same rhythm, and  
matches the pulse their veins throb with.

"You're so small, haud mirum." Harry brings his wet lips up to Louis' ear, smirking at the shiver he elicits from  
the boy.

He lays his hand out palm facing the sky, resting Louis' over it to compare the sizes. It's phenomenal how  
Louis seems to just fit with a distance between the edge of their hands, like when they carved from the same  
pillar in the stars it was so that Harry could always protect his mate.

"I'm not small, my love." Louis argues weakly, giggling at his Dominus' Alpha mode. "You're just a giant."  
Harry laces their fingers together and closes his eyes, both arms locked around Louis' curvaceous waist - he's  
been plumping up deliciously for the pregnancy. The faintest hint of a developing bump always gets Harry's  
wolf going, howling to the skies at any hour because his pup is conceived and living in his darling mate.  
After managing to pry themselves off each other to remember that the rest of the day is dwindling away and  
they have many an errand to run, Harry escorts Louis out of the laundromat with as smug a grin as his wolf  
can uphold because of all the strangers' eyes darting to them in judgement. He holds his mate's hand and  
holds the door open for him, all automatic reflexes programmed in him to be reserved just for this boy.

"There's the boutique I was telling you about." Louis briefly gestures to the quaint pink shop he had mention  
earlier.  
Harry hums and follows his line of vision. He intended to glance at it before insisting they continue on into the  
grocer but then he sees what they have have on display, and he pales after failing to breathe twice in a row.  
Lingerie.

"You..-" He trails off with a thick swallow around the lump in his throat, face paler than usual. "You wish to go  
in there, beloved?"

"Maybe." Louis' fingers flex against Harry's and he sniffles against the wind. "You can't come with me though."  
Harry is even more opposed to the store's existence now. "That will never be happening then."   
Louis guffaws and he's so convincing with those blue eyes, illuminated by the angels who made him from  
sunshine and beauty. "Please, my love? I want to surprise you."

"You surprise me plenty, haud mirum." Harry kisses his forehead in addition to the cheesy comment. "I have  
more than enough with you and Baby."

"Harry, please?" Louis is all but hanging onto his arm and pleading with wide eyes, knowing there's a victory  
nearby for him.

The Dominus sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose with the other hand, thinking this proposal over too  
much for the novelty of it to be enjoyable. He thinks of the mishaps, the taxing aftermath and most of all,  
what it might do to him to see Louis so delectably tucked into lacey underwear.

"Stop thinking." Louis quips, getting up on his tiptoes to peck Harry's jaw and melt his worries away. "Stand  
outside for ten min-"

"No." Harry immediately cuts across, eyes momentarily flickering to black flames. "I'm coming in with you."  
Louis quirks an eyebrow. "You won't feel awkward?"

"Haud mirum, our bond is so new." Harry pulls him close and envelopes the boy in his warmth, mouth just  
hovering over Louis'. "It's still so fresh and happened so that I spent three months with you alone in our home.  
You are carrying my first pup. I can never let you out of my sight."

Preening, his mate connects their lips and wraps his arms around Harry's neck so he bends down closer to  
him. Louis lines himself up flush against the Dominus and withdraws even when Harry's lips follow him,  
landing on his throat just beside his Adam's Apple.

"I am coming with you into that place." Harry says it softly but firmly, leaving no room to argue on the subject.  
"Okay." Louis nods and with his slightly swollen lips, kisses Harry once more for the hour.

The store smells of subtle jasmine inside and Louis loves its homely ambiance. He hums to an imaginary tune  
just before stepping inside and Harry is at his back, letting Louis have all four fingers with his thumb wrapped  
around his middle finger. It's become their way of holding hands and Louis isn't always the one to initiate it.  
There are approximately six or seven other people in here already, browsing through the sheer cotton and  
lace. Louis smiles back when the attendant greets him, walking past the window displays into the first isle.  
When he stops at the first row of merchandise - assorted feminine undergarments - he bursts into low volume  
laughter at seeing Harry's pained expression.

"You look terrified, my love." He murmurs just to the Dominus, abandoning the stock for the man.  
Harry's frown deepens in contempt and discontent at being present amongst so many....modern things that he  
really didn't think existed. "I have my reservations."

"Don't worry." Louis squeezes his hand and smiles reassuringly up at his Dominus. "Baby and I will protect  
you."

* * * * * 

"It's nice to meet you, Louis. Mr. Styles, my assistant tells me you've already diagnosed the situation." Dr.  
Phoenix greets them both with a humble appearance and gestures to the two empty seats on the other side of  
his desk.

Harry let's Louis sit down in the leather chair first before doing so himself, still a bit unnerved from the  
happenings at the boutique store. Louis was an efficient shopper but that didn't lessen the trauma of his  
Dominus witnessing him choose between two options, then pay and bag one of them. He hasn't gotten to see  
the number yet but Harry has exceptionally high hopes.

They now spend an hour with the funny and perfectly suited doctor, who makes Louis lie down with blue gel  
on his tummy to conduct the ultrasound. Harry is nervous about all the buzzing and beeps from the piece of  
equipment by Louis' head but he stares at the fuzzy grey screen long enough that the distinguishable blip  
from their baby nearly ends him right there.

"That's your little one." Dr. Phoenix points to the blip with his pinkie finger, circling the region around him.  
Louis' hand tightens around Harry's finger and he's smiling so brightly, so enchanting is he when the Dominus  
leans down to kiss him after the doctor gave them some privacy. There was always that nagging voice in the  
back of Harry's head doubting whether this pregnancy actually occurred or whether he was just so excited that  
he hallucinated a happy mirage.

Now he's holding a copy of their baby's sonogram in a clenched fist and kissing his precious mate like it's the  
first time. Louis' hand cups the side of his face, tilting his head back to keep their lips together.  
"I'm so excited." Louis confesses to him with a grin crinkling the corners of his eyes, emphasising his faint  
freckles and making him that much more exquisite. "That's our baby."

Harry sits Louis up and stands between his legs, securing the boy's thighs on his hips as he presses their  
foreheads together. "It certainly is. You have given me a baby, haud mirum. My first-born."  
Dr. Phoenix rejoins them after twenty minutes of hushed whispers and he gathering a portfolio for them. He  
doesn't have to hand out pamphlets or the like to this mated couple because he has a strong instinct telling  
him that the Dominus is lacking nothing in fatherly and mate-worthy skills.

For ten minutes they discuss meal plans and supplements that Louis has to take, some of them that are  
compulsory for him yet optional for others. He's carrying a hybrid pup which means the baby could be born in  
either wolf or human form. The doctor hopes it's the latter because birthing an actual wolf can harm Louis'  
body greatly.

Afterwards, Louis becomes restless and has his hands in his pockets while Harry handles the payment  
transaction. Their next appointment is scheduled for a month from now which puts Louis at four months  
pregnant. He's a little disappointed that there isn't a bump present for him to shield with his clothing or fawn  
over with his mate, but Dr. Phoenix said that in his first pregnancy such a thing is natural. He might only start  
showing at four or five months.

"I have never been so excited to go grocery shopping." Louis professes to his Dominus once they're back out  
in the opening, where the parking lot was busier and more voices flooded the air around them.  
"I can believe that, haud mirum." Harry can't help but to chuckle when his lover all but tugs on his hand to get  
him inside the grocery store.

Inside the buzzing and freshly stocked retail store, Harry allows himself to be led around from isle to isle.  
They always have two trolleys between them but Louis isn't shopping for hibernation mode anymore and is   
easier on the cataloguing of grocery items. Toiletries are restocked first and he asks Harry for his opinion on  
something that the Dominus didn't concern himself with because he was staring blatantly at the curve in Louis'  
sweater over his front.

"My love?" The boy got worried when Harry didn't answer him with more than a disinterested grunt.  
Apologetically, Harry meets his eye and sends to him a helpless look before reaching out to touch Louis' belly  
over his sweater. "This still fascinates me."

"Yeah?" Louis smiled warmly in a way that toasted Harry's insecurities to golden brown. "My love, Baby isn't  
going anywhere."

Irrespective, the Dominus was wildly paranoid and always kept an arm secured around Louis' waist to ensure  
his safety and close proximity. If another person got too close with the hazard that is a wrought steel trolley,  
he'd pull Louis aside even if it presented no danger.

The candy isle smelt of warm toffee and cookies. Louis chose a few packs of chocolate chip and rainbow  
cookies for them, together with Harry's humble caramel peanut sweets and some sour gummy bears. Harry  
gets two six packs of milk and bottled water from the heavy duty refrigerator while Louis hunts for the perfect  
frozen whole chicken.

His fingers were freezing themselves off after his mission through the deep freezers, and Louis sidled up to  
Harry before tucking them under the hem of Harry's shirt to rest on his bare skin. Beneath his fingertips was a  
firm and muscular torso, twitching just once upon first contact when the sudden temperature gradient caught  
the Dominus off-guard.

"Are you cold, haud mirum?" Harry asked the boy that's publicly cuddling up to him.  
Louis shook his head but his slim fingers flexed and warmed up with friction from Harry's abs. They weren't  
abs that seemed to be utterly stone and Louis loves that because he adores the fact that Harry is soft at some  
places.

Two entire hours later and the crickets are chirping outside already, the moon clearly visible through the dark  
grey clouds. Harry pays for the groceries and miscellaneous items they bought with his infamous black card  
before pocketing his wallet and pushing the trolleys out to the car.  
"You should let me put things away, you know." Louis sat on the edge of the SUV's boot with his feet crossed  
off the ground.

Harry packed the purchases around his mate, passing him an amused smirk and stacking the milk boxes up.  
"You seem to have my rules disordered, haud mirum."  
When the wind picked up, Louis buttoned his jacket and hid half his face in it to block his pout. "I'd like to  
help. I feel useless."

"You are never useless, beloved." Harry pauses to kiss Louis' fringe firmly and reinstate his faith in the boy.  
"You have my pup to take care of. Being the love of my life whilst doing that is more than enough work on  
your part."  
Louis' eyes get inexplicably brighter at the fondness of his Dominus, and pecks his lips twice with a broad  
smile. He waits a moment to let go, sighing in peace and tranquillity when Harry's arms steel themselves  
around him. 

"Brother?" Harry hears the voice and his attention breaks its cue to straighten his back and look at this  
approaching individual.

Looking up as well, Louis sees the figure belonging to Jeremiah walking up to them. His chocolate hair was  
twice as dark as Harry's and on this fine night, it became a well suited contrast to his pale skin elsewhere.  
Louis isn't sure of what he's meant to do because he's been on his feet all day and does not want to stand up  
to greet anyone.

When his brother is nearer, Harry and he exchange awkward hugs that dictate their discomfort around one  
another loud and clear. Louis' Dominus is the first to withdraw and step backwards twice, closer to his mate.  
Jeremiah's eyes flicker, sparking silver for a moment and Louis finds himself creasing his brow in confusion.  
"You have chosen a beautiful mate, Harry." Jeremiah says approvingly, nodding at Louis but nothing more.  
Harry leans back against the side of the SUV and offers his most unimpressed expression to his only sibling. "I  
know."

Jeremiah laughs with a shake of his head, kicking stones at his feet for two seconds. He manages to take a  
step forward and Harry isn't too happy about that, much to Louis' misunderstanding. Why was he suddenly so  
defensive when Louis' met Jeremiah before? Harry stood in front of his mate as a protective forefront,  
something fleeting but dangerous flashing across his eyes.

"I will be going now." Jeremiah chuckles knowingly at his younger brother's behaviour, smiling at Louis as he  
backs away. "Goodbye, Louis. Brother."  
When Harry all but snarls at his brother, Louis tugs on the sleeve of his shirt to desperately regain his  
attention. "What's wrong, my love?"

The Dominus sighs and helps Louis off his perch first, shutting the trunk with a sound slam of the door whilst  
holding his mate to his chest. He kisses Louis' forehead and then his temple. "My brother didn't choose as I  
did after his training, haud mirum. He became a Master and he's not been the same since."  
Louis' lips parted to take in fresh wisps of cool air that made his teeth shiver. "He didn't seem that way when I  
first met him."

"A Master is always polite to strangers." Harry answers, leading Louis by the hand around to his seat on the  
passenger side. "I try to prevent he becoming more than that to us."  
Feeling not as dumbfounded, Louis nods and let's Harry open his door for him. The Dominus gets a kiss for  
many things, majority of which occurred today. Harry let's the boy climb up and buckle up before shutting his  
door soundly.

* * * * *

Louis had absolute plans for when he got home. He wanted to unpack the necessary groceries in the kitchen  
before starting to cook dinner, letting Harry get the bigger items out and into the pantry. They formulated the  
perfect game-plan and he looked forward to his shower afterwards when he can tick off today's tasks.  
Unexpectedly, all his lovely plans are shot out of his grasp when Harry pinned him to their front door. Louis  
had tried to speak reasonably but Harry's mouth and hands on him never failed to render him a human mass   
of raging hormones. Between making it to the kitchen counter and Harry hastily marking up Louis' throat, their  
clothing was stripped down to nothing.

Harry was careful but open about his intentions. He growled when Louis tried to hoist himself up onto the  
counter, tightening his hands on the boy's fleshy hips until they bruised. His lips and teeth latched onto Louis'  
throat, sucking deep red bruises into the skin while his chest took off in rumbles. Louis' head rolled back  
between his shoulderblades, mouth falling open when his Dominus picked him up by his behind and dropped  
him on the countertop.

Things like utensils has fallen to the floor but Louis was made to forget when his back was flattened on the  
surface. He felt Harry holding his thighs apart, hiking them up on his waist and desperately nipping at his  
chest. Teeth circled Louis' nipple and fingers pulled on the other one, making them erect and pink from the  
usual brown complexion. Harry smelt the first hints of slick and he was made even more frantic, hungry for  
the taste on his tongue.

Louis screamed and arched his back when the Dominus' tongue flicked over his clenching hole, gathering up  
the slick and applying pressure to get more out. Harry ate him out with devotion and worship for what felt like  
hours, a hand always on Louis' tummy to make sure his pup was alright.

After his begging and tears fell down his face, Louis pleaded to have his Dominus' knot. He felt the shifting  
between his quivering legs and then an abrupt press of a blunt, bulbous tip penetrating his body. Harry's chin  
and cheeks were glistening with slick, a feral look in his eye as he watched his c*ck disappear inside his lover.  
The position wasn't good enough for Harry, who was so ravenous with the greed in his eye. He pulled Louis off  
the counter and kissed him with tongue and bitten lips, swallowing the boy's whimpers and slipping three  
fingers into him without patience. Louis moaned and tugged on his hair, eyes rolling back from the prodding  
at his prostate. Slick dripped down his legs and onto the floor with how aroused he was, Harry's hand covered  
in it as he pumped his fingers into his mate.

Breathy, broken gasps fell from Louis' lips. He was lowered to the ground momentarily before Harry sat on the  
counter and he clambered onto the Dominus' lap. Their mouths united and Louis pawed at his chest, whining  
for more until he was positioned over Harry's erection and forced to sit down in one thrust. Bottomed out in  
his lover, Harry laid back and held Louis' hips as the boy controlled their rhythm.

Louis looked ethereal and angelic above Harry, nails digging into the man's chest as he bit his own lip and  
bounced on his lap. His skin was flushed and toes curled from all the energy soaring through him, doing laps  
around his disorientated brain. Harry watched with black eyes as Louis' tummy flexed and his jaw slackened,  
the Dominus' taste still on his tongue.

Getting closer and closer to his climax, Louis rolled his hips and gave Harry his fantasy of watching his c*ck  
create a slight bump in his lower abdomen. He was tired and drew Harry up into a seated position, the noise  
fucked out of him when his lover chose to pivot his hips in a brutal way that stung his thighs and made  
obscene noises with his production of slick.

Harry's knot inflated when he was buried deep inside Louis, holding him down so it was fitted snug inside him.  
Louis came across their fronts, painting it white with the thick ropes that spilled from him. He was sated and  
exhausted, resting with his jittery arms wrapped around Harry's neck.

"I can't believe we did this on our counter." He whispered, out of breath.

Rife with laughter, Harry rubbed Louis' back and seated him properly on his thighs before responding. "It was  
the only surface left, haud mirum"


	10. chapter Ten

Harry has been striving for an opportunity to see Louis in the lingerie his mate purchased for two weeks now.  
The little pink box with poker dots and a bow on it has remained sealed and unspoken about for all this time,  
not even Louis thinking out loud in its respect. His Dominus looks at it sitting atop their humble dresser  
everyday with a mournful expression before he goes downstairs to breakfast.

That itself always brightens his mood because Louis is experiencing an unpredictable phase where he hates  
wearing anything on top, so he's always shirtless. As a result, Harry gets to see their beautiful creation of a  
baby - his vegrandis mirum - whenever he wants to. Louis' skin has stretched itself over the most  
extraordinary curve he has, his baby bump, and almost always has a hand over it like he's protecting their  
unborn.

This morning he declares to be no different, and Harry jogs down the steps on their choppy staircase to greet  
his precious lover in the kitchen. Louis is in yoga pants and humming to himself as he plated some scrambled  
eggs.

"Haud mirum." Ever since Harry's been pronounced Papa Wolf, he grew the tendency of enveloping Louis with  
his body at all times. "Good morning."

The weight of his Dominus weighed down Louis' shoulders in a familiar way, he felt Harry's lips at his neck and  
giggled at how ticklish they were. He abandoned the frying pan and turned around to embrace his mate with a  
nuzzle into his chest and contented sigh. Harry's bare chest pressed against his and the Dominus broke out a  
soft growl at feeling a connection with his baby.

Louis kissed Harry's naked pectoral and let the scent of his Dominus settle their baby. "Good morning, my  
love. I made breakfast."

Harry chuckled and withdrew enough to see Louis' face. "You seem to always be on top of things, beloved."

His petite mate managed to preen under the safety of Harry's chin resting on his head. "Aha."

Being offered a plate of food really is not enough to convince Harry that holding Louis for longer will be  
unnecessary. Unfortunately, his mate is moving away already so that their scents redisperse and Louis is back  
at the stove.

"Pregnant and barefoot in my kitchen, haud mirum?" Harry eyes the small, pale feet of his mate exposed to the  
wooden flooring.

Louis rolls his eyes and fondly teases his smirking Dominus. "I believe I laid claim over this room a while ago."

Harry's eyebrow rose just a bit, provocative towards his mate's comment. "Oh did you?"

"Of course I did." Louis filled a bowl with cereal and poured more milk than needed into it. "Are you going  
outside today?"

Ever since Harry completed his training, Louis believed that Harry wouldn't need to leave the cabin for any  
reason other than the obvious hunting needs. He was wrong however because Harry - quite often - went out  
to attend to business with the pack he was part of, yet isolated from.

The logic of it was twisted in Louis' books but what he understood was that a group of Dominus' would claim  
an area to go through training. Their shares in it were equal and they were one pack for all external purposes,  
to fulfil the societal norm of bonding with others of their kind.

"Do you not want me to?" Harry picked up his fork and shovelled some of the food Louis granted him into his  
mouth.

Louis stood across from him with a cup of warm milk and plate of pineapple cubes. It is safe to say that their  
little one is giving him the oddest cravings. "I never want you to leave me."

Harry's hand slid over the counter's surface and his longer, bony fingers laced together with Louis' softer ones.  
He always adored the feeling of his mate's hand linked with his, the contrast in size and texture warming his  
core.

"I will never leave you." Harry brought Louis' hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles tenderly, their eyes not  
once parting ways. "I love you and I must stay by your side, haud mirum."

Colouring his cheeks is the faintest blush, a dash of light pink on his pale cheeks. He flexes his fingers  
between Harry's, even the smallest of appendages belonging to his Dominus being the ones to protect his  
mate's. Louis knows how safe he always will be with his Dominus with him, secured by the strongest and  
warmest arms.

"I won't let you leave then." Louis accepts when Harry leads him around the island and beside him.  
Harry is grinning wider than any Dominus ever has when his lovely better half tugs on one of his curls, letting  
his arms band around his slender hips to hoist him up onto his lap. Situating himself is easy and fluid as Louis  
shifts minutely to get in the right position, his body cradled by Harry's. He wraps an arm around the man's  
neck and giggles into his ear when Harry kisses his neck.

A hand - however innocent in intention - slides from the cap of his knee to between his warm thighs, a cold  
contradiction to the heated skin. Harry nips with closed eyes at Louis' earlobe, pressing his plump cherry lips  
to the damp skin below moments later.

Louis didn't protest to any of the acts being carried out on him, instead opening up for them because it did  
more to soothe his restlessness than anything alternative. "What time do you think you'll be back home?"  
Harry's face is hidden in his mate's comforting shoulder junction, warm puffs of air landing on the boy's  
supple skin. The Dominus always got the honour of rubbing lotion on him, leaving the younger male feeling  
like a lavender snowball.

"I cannot promise a time, haud mirum." Harry replies regretfully, food forgotten and the lapful of his  
enchanting mate becomes the possessor of his focus. "I will return to you as soon as I can."  
"Oh." Louis caresses Harry's artfully structured cheek, the Dominus' sharp jaw being the bane of his  
admiration. "Say goodbye to Baby before you leave then."

Harry's lips twitched in his partial smile. "You won't be missing me, my lover. I will return before that can  
happen." 

* * * * *

With Harry being gone for an hour already, Louis finishes cleaning up the cottage from the kitchen to their  
bedroom. He tries not to do everything consecutively and tire his body when he's actually supposed to take it  
easy on himself. Rather than creating an ugly situation, he shuffles around the house at his own pace with an  
old vinyl record playing.

In the living room, he has his hand on his back as the entire column starts to ache relentlessly. When the dull  
throbbing commences he thinks a bit of wintergreen ointment will fix it but the ailment worsens to sharp jabs  
to his gut from behind and he simply cannot take being on his feet any longer. Slowly, Louis lowers himself  
onto the nearest couch and crosses his legs, a cushion on his lap.

For two hours he lies down staring at the ceiling with such miserable pain in his back that all he can do is  
whine about it. Movement felt like torture and his breathing was becoming laborious because of the intense  
pressure on his lungs, the need to use the bathroom becoming cruel as he lay there suffering. His bump was  
numb to the hurt however and Louis rubbed his hand over it, speaking softly to his baby as he nodded off.  
"What are you doing in there, love bug?" He pulled up his shirt and hoped to calm down the spirited individual  
growing inside him. "It doesn't feel so good out here."

Just after noon Louis managed to force himself to fall asleep, turned on his side and stretched out to eliminate  
any further triggers for the pain. The nerves in his spine were set alight, glowing as red as spilt blood as they  
interfered with his normal functioning.

The weather outside was delightfully earthy and cool. Winds forming the lightest breeze rustled the leaves in  
the highest pine trees. Wild but harmless animals were roaming about trying to recover from the winter. Louis'  
dreams are blurred with images of deer and rabbits kicking through the blossoming flowers, wolves coming  
out at night with sparkling silver eyes.

* * * * *

Harry begins to feel the lowest mood swing he's ever experiences when he's assisting another Dominus in the  
rationing of communal goods. They all hunted for an entire day to build a bounty worth sharing, then split it  
into four equal halves before going home.

The first signs of unease arise with he's chopping wood, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand  
and angling the axe for another swing. Blocks of wood split down the middle into equal halves, the entire  
procession becoming a wonderful work out.

"You okay over there, Styles?" His current work partner questions, bare upper body matching Harry's in how it  
glistens under the glaring sun.

Harry pinches the bridge of his nose to think for a moment, trying to gather what the nauseating sensations in  
his gut is telling him. It dims all on its own after ten breaths and he returns to the task on hand, still with  
doubts at the back of his mind.

Olivier, his temporary partner in crime for the day, notices this alteration but refrains from saying anything.  
He's the one out of their pack who knows Harry has a mate already while they didn't, a facet of his life that  
each Dominus wanted to claim. Nonetheless, Harry felt most secure in confessing it to Olivier than anyone  
else.

It's when the evening starts to come forth, covering the treetops in the darkest shade of blue. Harry sniffs the  
air and it smells like Mother Nature's purest creations nestled into a quaint part of the entire universe. His  
heightened senses allow him to pick up the scents of blooming flowers and hunted animals.  
"Styles." Olivier is approaching him with his shirt on but unbuttoned all the way down the front, his olive  
tanned skin on open display for the moonlight.

Harry shrugs on his jacket and ties his hair back into a sufficient bun, clearing his throat to prepare for  
speaking after not doing so all day. "I'm listening."  
"Joaquin just said that we have to make a trip to the mating school next week." Olivier says, dusting his palms  
off on his pants.

"I won't be coming." Harry informs him, receiving a curt nod from the other Dominus before they're allowed to  
part ways.

* * * * *

Louis is suffering from terminal restlessness and he whimpers softly into a cushion from the ache and energy  
within him. He had so much to do today but couldn't get any of it done with the rigid state of his spine, the  
nerves bursting with pain. His red flags are up and blazing, fear of the worst presenting itself as he  
protectively rubs his baby bump.

"We're okay, sweetheart." He tells to the little pair of underdeveloped ears that will listen. "Your Daddy will be  
home soon."

A wave of nausea washes over him once more out of eighty times and he moans from the discomfort it  
renders him. Night has already fallen and Louis is hungry after missing two meals already. Besides the  
grumbling of his empty tummy and the misconduct of his aching spinal column, exhaustion from a day spent  
tossing and turning has enveloped his mind.

Familiar heavy footsteps awaken him from the few stages before actual slumber, and Louis yawns with a crack  
in his stiff knots when the door swings open. The scent of spice and vanilla welcomes him to where he feels  
safest and he picks his head off the couch to see where Harry may be.

The Dominus is shedding his jacket and boots at the door, pheromones of distress making him hurriedly drop  
them to the ground before rushing to his mate's side. He looks like a troubled God-like creature, kneeling by  
Louis' head with his hand framing the boy's cheek and his concern radiating off him onto his mate.  
Louis leans into Harry's calloused touch and his throat releases a tiny whine when the man kisses his bond  
mark, a symbol of loyalty for this situation. He grips Harry's wrists and can hardly keep his eyes open, trying  
to move his back by rolling over or stretching forward but everything feels too saturated to be shifted.  
"What happened to you, haud mirum?" Harry shuffled forward on his knees, wincing at the scrape of his  
prosthetic on the ground. He kisses his mate's lips first and tastes what pain he's experiences with a  
discontented growl. 

"My back." Louis weakly gestures to it when Harry sits on the edge of the couch, now reassured by his  
Dominus' scent so near to him. "It hurts a lot."

Harry is careful about capturing Louis' waist in his grip and turning him over onto his front, chasing the pained  
mumbles from his mate away with chaste kisses. He bites his lip with concern and a mind plagued with  
troubles now that his mate cannot see him, his fingers examining the plane of Louis' back.

Louis' skin is just as remarkable and soft as always, small nobs down the middle from his spine. The arch is  
still a perfect curve and he has no bruises or strange anomalies. Harry runs his hand down Louis' back, feeling  
nothing but the wriggling life at the boy's abdomen when he gets there.

"I cannot see anything wrong, beloved." Harry says with his fury at himself etched into his expression. If  
anything happens to his Louis or his baby he will drag a blade right through his heart. "Let me carry you  
upstairs."

The Dominus gets to his feet and picks Louis up in his arms, careful not to jostle him more than he can  
handle. Louis remains as limp as he was before and hides his face in Harry's neck, arms wound tightly around  
the Dominus while he swallows his hurt noises.

He gets to their bedroom and kicks the door open with the toe of his foot, then lays Louis down on the bed  
even when the boy doesn't want him to let go. Harry strips off his shirt and pants to avoid any obstructions in  
their future close proximity. Before seating himself, Harry fetches a bottle of painkillers and vapour rub from  
the bathroom.

Louis has shimmering eyes when he looks up at Harry from where he's cradled by pillows and their comforter  
scrunched up around his body. He's nearly buried beneath all the softness and Harry lays a gentle peck on his  
tummy before encouraging him to lie on his front.

"When did it start to hurt, haud mirum?" Harry asks, spreading the vapour rub onto his fingers and massaging  
it into Louis' back with cautious strokes.

"Before noon." Louis answers, already feeling relaxed from Harry's hands on him taking away the hurt. He  
closes his eyes and folds his arms under his head. "It already feels better."

Harry smiles a bit as he does his duty of caring for any unhappiness on his mate's part. He enjoys the feel of  
Louis' smooth skin under his fingertips, baby hairs tickling him. Lightly, his nails scratch at the surface of his  
lover's body just to reinvigorate what sensory missionaries have fallen stagnant.

Louis is half asleep with too much weight on his full bladder when Harry finishes up. He smells of mint and the  
painkillers Harry makes him take remove the burden of suffering through falling asleep. His Dominus fetches  
him a warm blanket from the closet and lays it over his back to insulate the warmth.

"Try to sleep, haud mirum." Harry presses his lips to Louis' temple and his throat, tasting the boy's faint sheen  
of sweat and his peace at last. "I will be in the shower if you need me for anything."

His mate releases his hand only after sleep overcomes his senses and he easily slips under the sheath of  
peaceful rest. Harry stays there by his side for a few moments longer, brushing Louis' cheek with his knuckle  
and feeling his little breaths exhaled onto the appendage. The moonlight shone ideally through their open  
window, curtains blowing in the breeze that tickled their skin.

Harry showers thoroughly until he's certain that the day's grime is washed off his body, leaving just squeaky  
clean skin behind flushed and smelling of his body gel. Beside the musk scented gel was Louis' apple shower  
gel and the sight of it makes Harry wipe the soap nearing his brow off to smile secretly. 

Returning to his bedside that is essentially at ground level because their bed frame rested on the floor, Harry  
leaves his rings and hair tie on the floor by his head before slipping in under the covers. Louis is on his back  
already, one lightly tanned leg kicked out from beneath the sheets and his head turned to the side. Harry gets  
in next to his dozing mate and resumes the position he always does, sidled up close to Louis and roping a  
possessive arm across his waist.

Louis responds to his Dominus' presence by automatically giving Harry the space to nuzzle his neck and  
sleepily whimpering when the man's lips brush his own. They fall asleep together with a beam of pale white  
line peeking in through the gaping window, lighting them both up from the inside.

* * * * *

Harry is awake again before the sun comes up, cracking the knots and knuckles in his neck or fingers. He  
covers one yawn with his closed fist and realises that whatever he's asleep on is exceptionally warm, delicately  
scented. His eyes remain closed and he slides both hands down the two edges of his body, inner wolf growling  
as they closed around the waist of his mate.

Louis is still asleep, a hand in Harry's hair and the other hidden under his pillow. Harry managed to manoeuvre  
himself onto the boy's front, arms now tucked under him and keeping him locked in. His face was pressed into  
the spot where his pup rested safely, nurtured by his wonderful mate.

Along with the early morning chill that's creeping into his bones from where his feet weren't covered by the  
sheets. Louis smells like the freshest daisies and the best tasting honey. Harry burrows into it and settles in  
for another snooze, lips more pouted because of his sleepy aura and he briefly presses them to Louis' belly  
button before going limp again.

To wake Louis up for the first time in the day is the suffering of his bladder, which is enough alarm on its own  
to have him jolting upright. The action is too sudden and he hisses at the sharp jab of pain that spirals up his  
back, his hand clutching the curve of it to let the tension ease. Harry's head raises off his lap with all treasured  
softness and harmless exposure, the sweetest the Dominus will ever appear. He kisses Louis' lips and pinches  
his hip before flopping over onto the other side of the bed, arms fallen onto his sides.

"How do you feel, haud mirum?" Emerald green orbs are boring into Louis' back, a warm hand rubbing up and  
down his back.

"Better." Louis waits a bit before standing and shuffling on socked feet to the bathroom.

When he returns, Harry is still awake and free of a shirt on his chest. The article of clothing is balled up in his  
fist and he's tossing it into the air before catching it on the downfall. Louis tears up when he yawns and  
shuffles over to his Dominus, a man who predicted he'd want to cuddle with him so soon. Harry welcomed  
Louis onto him when the boy straddled him and laid his head over his head.

At once there were two broad arms closing around him, hands overlapping on his hips and a thumb rubbing  
circles at the base of his spine. Louis sighed and got comfortable under Harry's chin, daintier hands grasping  
the Dominus' biceps.

"I can tell your back no longer bothers you, haud mirum." Harry drags his cold knuckles along the path of  
Louis' arched spinal column. "Am I wrong?" 

"You're right." Louis blocks his smile in Harry's pillow, just for effect stretching himself out with a little moan  
and wrapping his arms around Harry's neck.

He rests their foreheads together, grinning dopily at his Dominus who is just as sleepy as he is. Harry is utterly  
harmless when it's this early for him, eyes melted emerald and lips just perfectly pink. Louis bumps their  
noses together once and kisses Harry's lips, opening up for it when the man wants to taste his mouth.  
Harry's hands fall to Louis' behind and cheekily dare to grip the perky roundness with both palms, eager  
enough to push past the restriction of Louis' waistband to knead bare flesh. "What happened yesterday, my  
lover? I have never been so fearful in my life."

Louis smiles in a sad way and brushes some curls out of Harry's face, lips on the man's cheek. "It's our pup,  
my love. A whole other life that goes wherever I go. I'm sorry I scared you."

Harry shakes his head and hugs his mate, trying to transfer all the love he has for the boy into him and the  
baby. "My duty is to make you happy. It was nothing short of an honour to take care of you, haud mirum."  
Smiling as fondly as he can with redness in his cheeks and marvel in his eyes, Louis leans forward again now  
that he doesn't feel like the planet is tipping over and kisses Harry. His fingers tease the stray curls at the base  
of Harry's hairline, their skin-on-skin contact elsewhere making him feel at home.

"Do you have to leave again?" Louis asks, quiet and innocent with wide blue eyes.

Harry demonstrates his response first by grabbing hold of the covers and pulling it over their heads, creating a  
tent around them that completely shielded them from the outside world. Louis was in love with it and giggled  
at being attacked with kisses as his Dominus sought many spots to fawn over.

"I'm all yours today, beloved." Harry had them on their sides, their legs tangled and fingers laced together.  
"What will you do with me?"

Louis has a mischievous glint in his eye that says it all. He brings himself closer to his valiant tower of a  
Dominus and drapes himself over him, finding solace and reprieve in the embrace of his mate's scent. "You are  
going to stay right here with baby and I."

Harry is noble enough to accept this proposition. "I am hoping that this will last all day?"

"All day."

* * * * *

Regardless of his healing capabilities, Louis had a Dominus that enjoyed carrying him from room to room. For  
the latest breakfast he's ever eaten, Louis was upheaved from his comfort loft and kept in Harry's arms for the  
trip downstairs. He spends the meal sharing a bowl of oatmeal with Harry, giving the Dominus sticky honey  
kisses all the while.

Harry let Louis be sprawled across his lap, always shifting or fidgeting because of his lack of tiredness. The  
boy downed two glasses of water and one of milk, nibbling away on cheese crackers after the oatmeal didn't  
suffice for his appetite. 

"Let's go outside." Louis suddenly suggests, down to his last cracker, crumbs on his lap and fingers even after  
Harry took the time to lick the first rounds off. "Baby and I want to go outside please."

"Where would you like to go?" Harry entertains his mate's fantasy, locking him in with both arms and kissing  
various spots on Louis' neck. "Pick any place, haud mirum."

"Can we go to that meadow you took us to a few days ago?" Louis uses the alternate pronoun to get Harry's  
heart pumping blood faster, giving him the illusion of flight.  
"The one with a little lake?"

Louis nods excitedly from his hiding spot behind a plush cushion. "And the huge picnic tree."  
Harry peppers a few kisses on Louis' forehead, temple and cheek before agreeing. "Alright then, beloved. We'll  
go."

* * * * *

"After three months of being inside our home, I wish I could spend three months out here." Louis lay down on  
his back, eyes closed and head cradled by Harry's coat.

He had his feet in the water of the crystal clear lake, the rocks and pebbled beneath reflecting ounces of  
sunlight at a time so that it all formed one beautiful picturesque image. The grass was cushioning Louis' back  
and cradling his petite frame, extending towards Harry where the Dominus lay on his front communicating  
with their baby.

"I can understand your judgment." Harry picked more glaring yellow flowers and tore the stems off, leaving  
just the pretty petals in their organised state to set on Louis' tummy around his belly button. "Summer time  
can be quite gruelling. I imagine us coming here more often during that season."

Louis feels the plant buds being placed on his sensitive skin as ticklish, the very slight dampness where Harry  
removed the stems sticking to the surface. He opens his eyes and watches the clouds drift towards their  
partners, combine then separate into different paths.

"I think that would be fun." Louis was careful not to kick his feet when he moved them, revelling in the cool  
glide of his ankles in cool water. "Although, I will be....very pregnant during that time."

With an abrupt laugh that Harry was hoping to contain, the Dominus rolled onto his back to face the sky as  
well. "A great deal of my time will be spent catering to you, haud mirum. I look forward to it."  
"Pray do tell, was that sarcasm?" Louis ran his fingers through Harry's never-ending curls, watching them  
straighten out before recoiling once again.

"Of course not." Harry angled his head to peck Louis' wrist when it was near. "I will be taking care of my baby  
who happens to be having my other baby."

Louis had Harry's hair splayed over a fraction of his chest, the shoulder-length chocolate locks adding a subtle  
shampooed scent to the air he breathes. He's giggling at Harry's comment and fondly rolling his eyes. "You  
know, I never asked you what you did when you left your babies to see the pack."

"Yes?" Harry waits for him to go on, feeling small tugs on his hair. "Would you like to know, beloved?"  
"If it's not top secret then yes please." His mate has commenced the process of braiding Harry's hair without  
permission, parting it down three ways and twisting reversible knots together with deft fingers.  
"Well, haud mirum-" Harry feels Louis sitting up so he does too, resting between Louis' legs. "-we hunt and  
check the area of our territory for safety measures."

"Oh." Louis' feet reappear out of the water and Harry hauls them onto his lap, leaving the boy's legs crossed  
around his waist. "How many others are there?"  
"Three." Harry discovers that his hands are larger than Louis' feet, his fingers able to overlap when they  
encircle his ankle. "I have only one friend in all of them."

Louis knows he must be wetting Harry's pants with the water droplets he had on his legs, but the Dominus  
didn't seem to care. He kept this in mind and continued to braid Harry's hair of appropriate length until it was  
decent. He'd only made a small plait down the side rather than getting all his hair involved.  
"Why just one?" Louis hooks his chin over Harry's shoulder to watch the water before them.

"The others are not very friendly, Lou." Harry turns his head and Louis smiles at the sight of such undeniable  
radiant green jewels. "Although, neither am I."

"That's not true." Louis arguably says, arms wound constrictingly around Harry's shoulders. "You're very  
friendly with me."

Harry's shoulders shake with his burst of hoarse laughter, sunlight absorbed by his eyes to make them darker.  
Louis pouts silently and squirms when his Dominus tickles the bare underside of his foot.

"I am indeed very friendly with you." The man chuckles and his dimples deepen into lovely craters that Louis  
wants to lick. "I think it is safe to say that friendly about sums up our entire courtship and-"

"Alright, alright." Louis can't contain his mock amusement as he puts an end to Harry's rambling. "My love, can  
I tell you something?"

Harry becomes slightly apprehensive about this. "Anything besides what will break my heart, haud mirum."  
Louis is in awe of this man who has not had romantic love but who manages to say the most heartwarming  
things. "I want to say that I look forward to you teaching our baby about being a Dominus."

"Are you so sure that our baby is a Dominus?" Harry questions softly, taking Louis' hands in his and linking  
them together.

It's an old, nearly forgotten, tale that the one carrying the first-born baby of a bloodline's generation, that they  
would be able to predict the gender of the innocent heart learning beat within them. Every estimation made  
thus far by all mothers have been correct and Louis saying this right now to Harry, makes his heart flutter with  
joy.

A little Dominus, boy or girl, who he could teach to hunt and be part of the most advanced species to grace  
the planet. Once he has a moment to let his subconscious catch up, he's filled with opaque dread. His baby  
will have to go through the torture he did to endure. The times he had to spend alone, bearing the brunt of  
nature's cruellest tides with bare arms that are scarred now with the most blatant marks. 

The rules of their lands dictated that a Dominus must go through the trial of independence in order to be  
declared a fully fledged Alpha specimen. There was no mercy for anyone, no exceptions of the sort for anyone  
and Harry's amputated leg was proof of that. Originally both Harry and Louis were proud to be part of these  
lands because it's the finest portion of the world, with the clearest seas and highest rate of success. Now  
however, looking into each other's eyes with the reminder of the nearing due date when they will meet their  
baby, both mates know this cannot be their home anymore.


	11. chapter Eleven

The sun came out at an exceptionally early hour today, but the birds remained in hiding until the last minute.  
Their chirping is magical and musical as it brings in the new day, painting the sky violet in colour and the sun  
a vibrant orange. The view was spectacular from any point of view.

"Haud mirum, where are you?!" Harry breaks through the clumping of the trees to the clearing where the scent  
of his mate led him.

He had woken up this morning and made a point to prepare breakfast so Louis could sleep in. Against his  
intentions, Louis had snuck out at some second of the morning to see the sky himself. The outside was breezy  
and scented with nature's perfume. Harry searched all through their little home trying to find Louis, panic  
rising in his chest until it threatened to end the pulse that beat through his heart.

Louis looked up from the blanket where he lay staring up at the skies. "I'm right here."

He didn't have to raise his voice for Harry to hear him. His ears pricked at the sound of heavy approaching  
footsteps, and he craned his neck to smile up at his Dominus. Harry was relieved to find Louis here just  
outside their home, getting some of the sun's radiance as he lay in the simplest clothing; shorts and one of  
Harry's ripped T-shirts that formed a crop top on the boy after its mistreatment.

"You must not frighten me this way." Harry fell at Louis' side with a stutter in his footing, expression one of  
relief and deep concern as he cupped Louis' face in his hands. "Promise me you will never leave again."

Louis hadn't left any more than he merely stepped outside to get some air with the horses. Harry was well past  
becoming a paranoid father to the five month old foetus Louis carried in his baby bump, and never let his  
mate out of his sight.

He pressed kisses to Louis' forehead and cheeks, his prosthetic leg faltering as he kneeled unsteadily. The  
boy's pout was remarkable and Harry kissed it away before sitting down so Louis could be cradled against his  
chest.

"I'm sorry." Louis kisses the tip of Harry's nose and apologises further by crawling onto the man's lap. "I won't  
do it again."

Harry banded an arm around Louis' front to grip his hip with one firm hand, his forearm pressed against Louis'  
beautiful baby bump that has grown a little more prominent. Bare skin of his mate rubbed against him  
because Louis' shirt is well up on his chest in length. Harry flattened his palm over Louis' front and kissed up  
his neck.

"What are you and Baby up to out here, haud mirum?" Harry whispered against his throat where it sourced  
shivers down the boy's back.

Louis sighed, content with this circumstance, and leaned back against his mate's broad shoulders. He brought  
his arms up and behind him to be locked around Harry's neck, turning to kiss the Dominus' cheek.

"It's nice out here." Louis crossed his legs. "The sky is pretty."

Humming in agreement, Harry left Louis' neck laden with soft kisses like feather embraces. His mate preened  
with pride and gave him further access to his naked skin, Harry's finger crooking over the neckline of Louis'  
improvised crop-top to enable that.

"Nothing will ever be as gorgeous as you are-" Harry rubs over Louis' baby bump soothingly, his inner Alpha's  
chest rumbling. "-looking this happy as you are carrying my pup."

Their plans of moving have been temporarily rendered obsolete until they can find the perfect home  
elsewhere. Harry has been speaking to Olivier and learning about other lands, far and wide, to decide which  
will be best about raising their baby. Unfortunately, most territories are strict about Dominus babies because  
the more dominant of genders needed to be the best of the best.

Harry often sat up all night watching Louis sleep on his back, a bare hand over his exposed bump to protect  
the little one it shielded. He talked to their unborn infant and gave it many kisses, small promises to always  
make life a painless one. What he's gone through he'd rather sacrifice than have his baby suffer as well.  
Louis' eyes were closed, papery pale skin slipped over the most powerful shade of sapphire. "This is just  
spring. Can you imagine the heat of summer?"

"I can." Harry scraped his prosthetic on the ground when he shifted that leg slightly. He forgot about it once  
he'd given Louis' shoulder a peck. "We'll be spending all our nights under the stars."

* * * * *

Harry was not entirely opposed to helping Louis in the kitchen but recently he's been forced to leave because  
his darling mate wanted to handle it all on his own. The Dominus would simply kiss some part of Louis and  
leave him be for some time. Tonight however, Louis is feeling particularly strange and needs some aid.  
The dizzy spells stemming from his pregnancy have been taking over his duty to their home. He can't dress or  
bathe himself without Harry's help, which is something that's begun to gnaw on his nerves. Independence is  
crucial for him but Harry seems to enjoy more than anything, Louis' need for his help.

"Haud mirum?" Harry called to him from his station behind a chopping board laden with bell peppers of three  
different vibrant colours.

"Hmm?" Louis had half a pickle between his lips, something he snacks on often whilst cooking.

Harry licked his lips at the delectable sight of his beautiful mate in low-hanging sweatpants and a top that's  
cut up above his tummy to expose the protrusion of his baby bump. "What have you done with the lingerie you  
bought the last time we went into town?"

Louis doesn't even skip a beat when he blushes from the question. "I have it somewhere. Why?"

He knew why his Dominus was asking and felt a little guilty for making him need to ask. Louis' neglected the  
lingerie ever since he bought it and Harry has become a hater of the trend. He wants to see his mate slip into  
that skimpy nightwear just for him one night. 

"You know very well why I'm asking." Harry took a step towards him and landed in a spot behind Louis, chest  
plastered to the boy's back with secure hands on his full hips. "Why do you torture me so, my lover?"

Louis has to tilt his head to the side when Harry's lips, spicy from nibbling on pepper, start to dot damp kisses  
along his neck. "I thought you'd forgotten about it."

Harry's chest rumbled with a growl, fingers flexing against Louis' flesh. "How could I when you've planted the  
seed of such a fantasy in my mind?"

Teeth sunk into Louis' mating mark to turn the skin flushed and itchy, making the life inside him stir from  
such a physical connection to the father. Louis gasped from the flutter of baby wings in his womb, tapping  
against the walls of his body to let him know his baby is awake.

"I want to see you in the lingerie tonight." Harry's voice held a warm, curt type of authority that both instilled  
fear in and allured him. "An Alpha only has so much self-control, haud mirum."

To worsen the state of his mate's arousal, Louis innocently wiggled his pert bottom against Harry's crotch. He  
pretends to reach for the salt. "If Idon't wear the lingerie....what would you do?"

Louis got a glimpse of something dark and feral in the Dominus' eye. It was the breeding of an inner beast  
that resided in the heart of every Dominus, no matter how humble the character. Harry growled, louder and  
deeper, into Louis' neck where it stung their bond mark and scratched his skin.

"I don't want to punish you, haud mirum." Harry's lips were wet and parted, being dragged across Louis'  
throat. "I want to give you the world, my world."

It was like listening to the gravely words of an entirely different dominant male. Louis knew his Harry to be  
somewhat timid when it came to making love because he was pregnant and the Dominus never wanted to  
cause him harm. This Harry is one to beat, with sinful erotica rolling off his skin and grasping at Louis' nerves.  
"What kind of punishment would you give me?" Louis spurred this new animalistic persona on, desperate to  
see how far it would go.

Harry pinned him to the counter, both hands framing the baby bump to protect it. He bit down on Louis'  
shoulder, costing him a whine from his lover.

"I'll taste you here-" Harry was uncensored when he reached down and palmed Louis' bum, kneading the toned  
muscle. "-for longer than you want. Won't give you my knot though."

Louis regrets ever starting this back-and-forth. He may not be crazy but he's still the mate to a more than  
attractive and physically appealing Dominus. He has little shame when it comes to Harry's knot and how much  
he wants it inside him. If he weren't pregnant, the chances of him not letting Harry's c*ck out of him were  
precisely high.

"What happened to my sweet Dominus?" Louis pouted playfully and nuzzled Harry's neck affectionately.  
The man responds by letting his nails press into Louis' baby bump, harmless but pinching the taut skin. It  
should hurt a lot more and have Louis' screaming, but mated couples of different bloodlines behave differently  
when it came to pups. Some Dominus' were gentle and loving all the time, whilst others were aggressively  
protective and laid claim on the unborn pup early. Harry was a mixture of both. 

"If you take Baby and I somewhere tomorrow, I'll wear the lingerie and-" Louis locks his arms around Harry's  
neck and brings their faces in close proximity. "-I'll let you take it off me."

* * * * *

Harry's vow was fulfilled in words as soon as Louis got him to promise that they'd visit the enclosure nearby  
where small animals roamed in pairs and freesias bloomed everywhere. They managed to make it through  
dinner when Louis made mashed potatoes and a sizzling, delicious chicken roast. Harry took all the corn as  
Louis took all the pumpkin, deciding in the end to share the spiced wedges.

Together, they sit in front of a roaring fire on the floor with a picnic blanket and two cups of milkshake. Harry  
has Louis' legs over his lap, stopping between swallows to brush the boy's knees and knead his swollen ankles  
with his jobless left hand.

"What are you thinking about?" Louis sidled up next to Harry, protected by the weight of the Dominus' arm.  
Harry presses his lips on Louis' forehead, wrapping the other arm around Louis' front to bring him closer. "You  
are the most beautiful creature and I was thinking about all the things I'm going to do to you."

Blushing deeply, Louis whines softly and settles himself astride the man's lap. He placed his hands on Harry's  
shoulders and looked into the abyss presented to him by two black pulsating orbs. The Dominus let his hands  
cup Louis' bum and let him grind down on on the developing bulge between his thighs.

Bitten lip and scorching gaze, Harry peered up at Louis with hunger burning right through his restraint. One  
tug brought Louis down for a fervent kiss, prying the boy's lips apart to lick into his mouth. The taste of  
vanilla cream and sprinkles fills his senses and Harry cradles the back of his mate's head, deepening their kiss.  
Sloppy as it turned out, Harry never allowed them to part and for air to come between them.

Harry spends hours making love to his darling mate in front of a never deceased fireplace. However symbolic it  
may be, he couldn't concentrate on anything besides the spread thighs of his delicate better half whimpering  
and thrashing about under him.

Louis tasted divine to him, for the eternity he spent lapping at every droplet of slick that ran down the crevice  
of his behind. Harry's never felt so sated in his life when he brought Louis to two orgasms just with his  
tongue, another with his long fingers pumping in and out of him with cruel massages to his prostate.

Sensitive as he turned out to be because of the denial of his Dominus' knot, Louis didn't object or protest  
when Harry slid into his body and thrusted with precision into his heat. He was sensitised by the pregnancy  
and screamed to the stars, back arching and skin glistening with sweat. Nails raked down Harry's back to hear  
him growl approvingly and recreate the bond mark on Louis' throat.

Harry's knot inflated inside his lover and went down after twenty minutes, a connection so undeniable and  
unconquerable forming between him and his unborn baby during that time.  
The Dominus was determined to leave the phantom presence of his c*ck inside his mate, and started moving  
again before waiting for Louis to settle again. Quick, haphazard thrusts had him slamming into the firm flesh  
of Louis' bum as he hiked the boy's legs up on his waist.  
He had the most beautiful, responsive mate in all the lands because Louis was breathless and crying out  
desperately. Bruised as his walls were, special spot deep inside him swollen from abuse, he wanted his   
Dominus' mistreatment all the time. He came absolutely dry the fourth time and was whining loudly from the  
painful pleasure of it.

"You were so wonderful, haud mirum." Harry whispered sweetly into his ear, voice hoarse and raspy.  
They were still connected and Louis was nearly entirely asleep, head lolled the side and lips parted in quick  
breaths. "W-We forgot about the lingerie."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the reminder and place a warm kiss on Louis' jaw. "Next time for certain, my  
lover."

* * * * *

"It's so pretty here!" Louis announced the second he got a spot on a grassy hill for them to set up their leftover  
picnic. It consisted of foods that Louis cooked during the week and hadn't been finished, leading to  
sandwiches and snacks for today.

"It indeed is." Harry cups Louis' cheek and kisses his forehead, smiling at the preen of his mate. "Not prettier  
than you and my pup."

Louis rolled his eyes in fond exasperation and squeaked when Harry pinched his bum. They were in full view of  
the meadow that was rarely visited by others for there weren't residents in this territory and the rest of Harry's  
pack were not mated yet.

Under the sun, Harry laid down a blanket and Louis sat down first with a container of chicken salad. He put  
more dressing and pepper than necessary and munched away whilst leaning into Harry's side, watching the  
squirrels race up trees and deer pass to the glistening lake.

"Tasty, is it?" Harry teases him, brushing Louis' fringe away from his eyes and kissing his nose.  
Louis pouted and offered some of the chicken up on his plastic fork. Harry instead took the cherry tomato  
from between his lips. Scandalized, his young mate gasped and swatted his pectoral.  
"That was mine." Louis points out to him, palm flattening over Harry's heart and pulling himself up to be  
perched on the man's thigh.

Harry hums, his prosthetic flattened out on the ground to grant it some rest from all the labour of moving him  
around. He kissed Louis' hair. "All mine."

Not more than ten minutes later, Harry notices that their food is lain abandoned on the ground while Louis  
fawns over a bunny rabbit. The creature was snow white and had hopped right up to Louis' ankle where it  
received a leaf of lettuce from the boy and allowed itself to be held.

"He's adorable, Harry." Louis professes to his uninterested Dominus, pouting when all Harry does is smile  
briefly. "Pay attention to me."

Harry has a burst of laughter. "I am paying attention to you, haud mirum."

Louis holds the bunny to his chest so it looks like his arms are crossed, an inexplicably fierce look becoming  
his expression. "Not enough then." 

Raising an eyebrow at his mate, Harry secures Louis' waist and reels him in closer to unite their lips in a less  
than publicly appropriate connection. With a whimper, Louis easily surrenders to his Dominus' tongue flicking  
against the roof of his mouth and massaging his own wet muscle.

"Who knew my lover was a sassy one?" Harry smirks knowingly when he poses the rhetorical question, hand  
sliding over the curve of Louis' perky behind.

"Sassy?" Louis releases the animal in his arms back to join its friends by the bush nearby. "I'm not sassy."  
Harry hums disbelievingly. He hasn't paid mind to their baby all day due to the rush of getting Louis out the  
door and his mate waking up ten minutes before him with morning sickness. To rectify this crime, Harry helps  
lay Louis down so he's resting flush against their picnic blanket. For a moment he hovers over the boy,  
smirking devilishly when Louis blushes and kisses the boy's lips once.

Although a risky position for the exposed wood of his prosthetic, Harry takes his chances and gets down on  
his front between Louis' warm thighs to cater for his pup. Both hands, dry but loving, brace the protruding  
bump with small strokes and a kiss over Louis' belly button.

"Five whole months of carrying my pup, haud mirum." Harry pushes Louis' shirt up to uncover the bump,  
peppering kisses along the way to stir the sleeping wonder.

"Baby is going to be so small." Louis puts his hand alongside Harry's lips, feeling the life within him. "I can  
already feel your next pup will be as big as you are now."

Harry chuckles at the ridiculous statement before sobering with his thoughts. "My lover, I've found a place  
where our pups can remain with us for as long as they wish."

"Really?" Louis pushes himself up on his elbows, intrigued by the revelation.  
"Yes however-" Harry sighs and gazes down between them at their growing baby. "-our new home will be  
extremely modern and most likely in a city."

"Oh." The add-on actively steals some of the joy from Harry's news.

The territory they lived in, even where Louis had his home before, was old and traditional although advanced  
enough to follow universal laws. A city is most innovated because of the activities within it and maybe finances  
won't be an issue but adjusting to such a hectic lifestyle might put a strain on Louis and the baby.  
"What are you thinking, haud mirum?" Harry asks after a moment of silence between them.

Louis has himself propped up on his elbows, lost in thought for a few beats of time. "I'm thinking us learning  
to live in a city is a better option than letting our baby go before they're ready. I haven't even had them yet and  
I'm terrified of losing my pup, Harry."

"Shh, my love." Harry hastens to grab Louis by his middle and settle his anxiety with sweet words. "I won't let  
anything take our baby away, haud mirum."

"You can't promise that, Harry." Louis whispers, upset enough to sound broken. He fans his fingers out over  
Harry's bicep and tries to monitor his breathing, sniffling sadly.

"I can and I am." Harry places a kiss on Louis' ear lobe and bumps their noses together to get a glimpse of his  
mate's extraordinary eyes. "I'll pack us up in a day if I have to." 

Louis smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes, worry setting in. "We're going to move?"

"Most likely, haud mirum." Harry takes Louis' hand with his and kisses his forearm over the throb of a strong  
pulse. "Do not let this bother you, my lover. I will handle every arrangement."  
"How can I do that to you? We are mates, Harry." Louis argues once fully seated again, crossing his legs.  
"This is my rule." Harry states firmly. "You will not disobey my rule, haud mirum."

"Okay." Louis flashes him a wry smile, exhaling tiredly and letting his eyelids slip shut.  
"Good." Harry's lips give Louis' forehead a kiss. "Now how about we do what we came here to do?"  
Louis looks at him indignantly. "Which is?"

Harry grins, dimples and thousand watt smile. He looks nothing like an intimidating Dominus when he is so  
charmingly handsome. "Go swimming."

Gasping, Louis shakes his head vehemently. "Your leg, Harry."  
"I know about it, beloved." Harry chuckles, standing Louis up without negotiation and gripping the hem of his  
shirt. "My wolf has no problem with the water."

Louis questions his motive. "You're going to be be with me as a wolf?"  
"Yes." Harry answers simply, stripping his mate of a shirt and tossing it back onto the blanket before a smirk is  
born. "Are you afraid of my wolf?"

"Hardly." Louis scoffs, his own approach to sass becoming evident. "You won't bite me?"  
Barking out a sudden laugh, Harry brings his hand to his eyes as his chest pants with the amusement. "You  
have never asked me that before yet you've seen my wolf many times."

Louis bats Harry's hands away when they go for the knot on his sweatpants. "It's mean to laugh at people."  
Harry takes the swing of moods in his stride and tugs Louis closer even though the boy doesn't wish it. He  
chases after Louis' lips for a kiss he doesn't get. "My lover, are you upset with me now?"

"It's possible." Louis covers his mouth when Harry swoops low enough again, something stubborn causing a  
glint in his eye.  
"Oh, haud mirum." Harry pulls Louis' wrists away from burdening him and pins them behind his back, their  
chests flush against each other and faces an inch apart. "How could you think I would ever open my mouth to  
offend you?"

Louis' eyes shimmer as the sun's rays bounce off their colour. "You laughed at me."  
Harry knew Louis' pregnancy hormones were off the charts and often did everything possible to avoid being in  
trouble. He was still a little hurtful to his precious mate by laughing and wants to hate himself for never being  
able to take it back. 

"I didn't mean to laugh at you, my beloved. Never you." Harry petted Louis' sides and tucked him in under his  
chin. "I apologise for hurting you. I love you."

Louis' giggle comes out unbidden at Harry's last proclamation. He wriggles his fingers under the Dominus'  
arms and fists the fabric at his sides. "I love you too."

Harry did get Louis to go in the water with him and it wasn't after much convincing. The boy had taken off his  
pants to save them but stayed in his obscenely short boxer briefs that was curved underneath his baby bump  
to accommodate it.

The water was cool and not cold enough to have Louis squeal and run off like the first time they came here. He  
could wade through the water without difficulty but his Dominus was far too protective and concerned to let  
him do so. After a few seconds of waiting, Louis turned around at a boulder in the middle of the lake to watch  
a majestic wolf step into the water.

As a wolf Harry could not communicate beyond touching and Louis' voice, but he still set the parameter for  
how far in they'd go. He got to Louis, fur wet and towering height casting a dark shadow over his mate. Louis  
scratched his jaw where the muscle was firm and the bone was noticeable. He kissed the wolf's muzzle and  
Harry bumped his shoulder.

"Careful now." Louis warned with a brilliant smirk lighting up his features. "I'm pregnant, you know."  
Harry's wolf growled and bent in the water, tip of his nose grazing Louis' bump and licking the spot he felt his  
pup as if to say 'Trust me, I know.'

Louis was graceful and stealthy but being pregnant put a slight blunder on those traits. He often clung to  
Harry's side for balance when he felt uncertain on edgy rocks and the wolf was more than obliged to shield  
him. Once safely up on the largest boulder standing stagnant in a flowing lake, Louis let the water drip off him  
and dry under the humidity.

Harry rested the heavy head of his wolf on Louis' lap though he still stood in the water. He huffed out a breath  
and his black, shimmering eyes closed for a beat. Louis' fingers were raking through his silky fur, coarse  
vibrations coming from the Dominus' chest.

"I miss your voice." Louis kissed the spot between Harry's sealed eyes.  
The wolf picked up its head and sharp teeth nipped at Louis' throat over their bond mark, casually eliciting a  
helpless murmur from his mate.

"I've heard that your senses are better when you're in your wolf form. Is that true?" Louis felt like Harry's  
shadow was massive enough to conceal them both, feeling measures of more secure.  
Harry made an unintelligible grumble that sounded displeased. Louis took it as a no.


	12. chapter twelve

Harry was on the prowl. He searched high and low, over and above the locations Louis - his blissfully  
panicking mate - directed him towards to fetch his favourite cableknit sweater. It was no less than medium in   
warmth and Harry didn't even need more clothes than chopped sweatpants but his mate wanted a sweater and  
so he shall have one.

He found all the cableknit sweaters not dumped into their laundry hamper and brought it downstairs to where  
Louis was making a cold turkey sandwich for himself. It was accompanied by slices of pickles for chips and  
apple juice for a beverage.

"Would your favourite choice be among these?" Harry held up the three vastly different selections and had  
Louis narrow his eyes to a squint.

"No." Louis looked heartbroken, pout complete with upset eyes and a creased brow. "You looked everywhere?"

"I did, haud mirum." Harry dumped the items of clothing onto their couch and went to comfort his saddened  
mate by kissing his mark on him.

"In the closet?" Louis didn't pay him any mind while Harry rubbed two flattened palms over his baby bump and  
peppered sweet kisses up to his jaw.

"Of course." Harry murmured, distracted by the tantalising brush of Louis' skin on his lips.

"In my drawer in the dresser?" Louis popped a shred of dry turkey into his mouth.

Harry smirked. "All that is mine is yours. How can the drawer be yours when we both store things in there,  
beloved?"

"Don't get sappy on me." Louis wrapped one hand around Harry's forearm when it steeled itself around his  
lower abdomen. "We're in a crisis."

"No, my lover." Harry spins him around as a darkening part-took in the widening of his pupils. "A crisis is that  
we have a new home worlds away waiting for us."

Just two days ago, on the day they finalised a move from these lands, Harry forced himself out of the territorial  
pack and received a month in time to move away. He soon found their new home in the form of an apartment  
as is part of a well-known complex. Louis saw images of it when Harry took them into town yesterday to  
finalise the details and call the estate agent on the other side.

"We haven't even packed yet." Louis' fingernails lightly scratch at the dips created between Harry's broad  
muscular frame. He ran his thumb over them and got his Dominus to growl or shudder. "Do you think Baby  
will like it in the city?"

"Baby will never know about this home of ours." Harry dropped his arms to Louis' hips.

"Will you be getting a job there?" Louis runs his fingers through Harry's silky locks, freshly shampooed from  
his shower. "Life in the city is expensive, my love."

"I am aware." Harry chuckles not uncomfortably, patting Louis' pert bottom to hear him giggle. "I will not be  
acquiring an occupation outside our home, and neither will you need to."

Louis sighed and stepped with socks on his feet onto the dorsal side of Harry's feet. The wood of the Dominus'  
prosthetic was slippery but nothing Harry tightening his arms around Louis couldn't solve.

"I believe you." Louis pecked the tip of Harry's nose. "How do you feel about banana split for dinner?" 

* * * * *

Louis got to make his decadent banana split with more Madagascan vanilla ice cream than chocolate, cherries  
or banana. Harry watched in odd fascination during his meal of leftover lasagne as Louis devoured the entire  
extravagant treat without breathing between bites.

Without a television and more than eighteen movies from over thirty-five years ago to entertain them, Louis  
cured their chronic boredom with Scrabble. He whipped out the game from the attic and coughed through the  
entire process of dusting the box off. Harry pitied him but more so admired his determination, for tiny acts  
like this reassured him everytime that there's no other creature on this planet for him.  
After three full rounds that took them well into the night, Louis called Harry an expert cheater and stormed  
out the front door to check on his mini garden. He's already picked out six plants that will survive the trip to  
the city in another land, potted and waiting for transportation.

Louis kneeled under the moon and thumbed over the sprouting leaf of a carrot plant. He spoke to his unborn  
pup. "Your father isn't a cheater, little one. I love him very much and so will you."

Harry stood idle by the doorway, arms crossed and smile soft as he watched his precious mate talk to their  
baby. He was guarding them both by standing so near, undetected.

"I am glad you told our vegrandis mirum the truth about me." The Dominus let his arms hang at his sides  
when he verbalised his thoughts.

Louis saw him at last and scowled, so teasing on such a beautiful face. "Go away, cheater."

"I do not cheat, haud mirum." Harry said to clear his name again, taking steps towards Louis.  
"That's what cheaters say." Louis defends his mutiny with pouted lips and a yawn.

"Do you not love me anymore then?" Harry sat down beside his tiredly swaying mate, dirtying his knees with  
the soil and luring Louis in with lips at his ear. "Am I not worthy of your bed any longer?"

Louis abandons all stubbornness and offers reprieve by resting his head on Harry's shoulder, face hidden in  
the man's neck and nibbling on his scratchy skin. "Don't be foolish, my love. Whose sleep will I ruin when I'm  
restless?"

With a bout of laughter, Harry can't resist kissing his blushing mate's cheek and at last helping him off the  
ground. "Look what you've done, haud mirum. We are both in need of a bath now."

Louis shrugs noncommitally and takes Harry's hand to lead him inside, the howl of a wolf at the glowing moon  
following them indoors.

Strict as he may be, Harry's mate still gets the better of him. Louis has the bluest eyes on the planet, if not in  
the galaxy, and uses them to fight unfairly when it comes to convincing him. Harry ends up naked in their tub  
with a lapful of contented Louis, pruning already at his fingers and toes.

"I haven't seen this body of yours for far too long." Harry trails his dripping wet fingertips down the curve of  
Louis' hip, stopping at his thigh to massage the fleshy part of him. 

Louis hums, arms locked around Harry's neck and eyes closed against his pulse. "What a false truth, my love."  
Harry chuckles when Louis shifts his legs, letting them fold across the man's lap and protect the bump. "What  
do you think it's like in the city?"

"You've never been?" Louis asks him, fingers curling around a few curls at the base of Harry's neck.  
Harry shakes his head, sloshing the water they've settled in when he straightens his back. The Dominus checks  
that his prosthetic is against the side of the tub outside it.

"Neither have I. Maybe when I was little but then I don't remember." Something in the pit of Louis' gut stirs in a  
pleasantly low manner, fuelling his act of straddling Harry's lap to be a head higher than he is.  
"What's all this then?" Harry runs his hands up and down Louis' delicious little body, a salacious glint reborn in  
his deep green eyes.

Louis sucks in a sharp breath when Harry's palms slide over his behind, kneading the muscle reverently. "All  
yours."

Harry lifts his head up from placing kisses along Louis' tummy and baby bump, teeth making an appearance to  
nip at the soft scented skin. "I knew it had to be true after all the times you spent in my bed."

Tossing his head back for a beat, Louis laughs a loud giggle at Harry's interpretation and execution of a joke.  
"Who would have taken you for a comedian?"

His Dominus' dark emeralds turn fully blown black orbs, swallowing the light as it reaches them. He tightens  
his hold to bruising on Louis' soft hips, growling hungrily when he caught the scent so familiar to his inner  
Alpha during love-making.

Louis couldn't control the generation of his slick and moaned weakly as it dripped out of him. He hid in Harry's  
neck as the Dominus reached behind him to prod at the puckered rim leaking, dirtying the bathwater with his  
sweet slick. Harry's chest rumbled against Louis' and he slipped one finger in suddenly, twisting and curling it  
to render shudders through the boy's body.

Harry secured Louis' body to his, arm steeled across his back as the other worked sloppily at his entrance.  
"Who knew this lovely hole of yours could be so greedy, haud mirum?"

Helpless, Louis whined and rutted back on Harry's hand. Two fingers now were inserted, causing slick to gush  
out of his hot, flushed body as he desperately rolled his hips. His walls were being stretched open and scraped  
by Harry's rough handling, jabbing at his insides without caution or care.

Harry's other arm lowered to the same region and Louis keened, crying out loudly when a separate two fingers  
forced their way into him. His tightness lessened but the stretched burned, his own length fattening against  
his tummy sufficiently.

The four fingers held Louis open in pairs, opposite poles created to pry his clenching tunnel apart. Louis  
whimpered and rode out the pain, listening to explicit sounds of Harry's fingers causing squelching effects  
whenever he moved. The Dominus' hands were drenched in slick as Louis' body couldn't stop producing it,  
releasing the intoxicating substance in copious hoards to roll down Harry's wrists and into the cooling water.  
"Look at you all open for me, beloved." Harry crooked two fingers only over Louis' rim and removed the other  
hand, scissoring what was still inside the boy. "Do you think you can take me?" 

Louis nodded fervently, still burrowing into Harry's shoulder. He whimpered and squirmed away from the  
Dominus' invasive appendages, reaching behind him to grasp the throbbing c*ck nestled between his thighs  
by Harry's body. Breathless and needy, Louis sank down on Harry's monster erection without a pause. He  
bottomed out all at once, greedy for the feel of it deep inside him.

He rolled his hips in figure eights, raking his nails down Harry's chest and throwing his head back to revel in  
the pleasure. His Dominus' lips were at his pebbled nibbles, slick-covered fingers teasing one as his mouth  
abused the other. Louis lifted himself up and dropped down, releasing loud moans on each thrust.  
"My lover, be careful." Harry cautioned when Louis got too worked up, slamming down on his body so their  
thighs stung and Louis had a twisted frown.

When Louis didn't register his words, Harry caught his hands and laced their fingers together. The slick from  
his rubbed off on Louis', pinning the units to either end on the lip of the tub. He had Louis arched backwards  
and thrusted to his own rhythm up into him.

The most beautiful pants of 'uh uh uh' were tumbling out from Louis' swollen lips. He comes across Harry's  
torso when the Dominus delivered one harsh blow in the direction of his prostate, screaming louder than he  
has before during an orgasm. The Dominus hugs him close around his middle and knots with a pained groan,  
letting Louis sink down a bit more and get tied to him.

"I love you." Louis was choppy in his breathing, ragged pants torn away from each other with a heave of his  
chest.

Harry pulled the plug out of the tub, letting the ruined bathwater drain out from around them. "I love you,  
haud mirum. Close your eyes and have sweet dreams, I'll take care of you."

* * * * *

"Harry." Louis spoke soft and lowly into Harry's ear.

He was draped across his Dominus' body, a leg over the man's hips and. The evening was warm with a slight  
breeze coming with it. Sleep was evading Louis and he was told firmly by the Dominus to wake him up if such  
a thing happened.

"My love." He caressed the artful, strong relaxed jawline of his Alpha mate, scratching the faintness of Harry's  
growing facial hair.

There's a slight muffled sound from Harry but nothing about his position changes.  
"Harry. He elongates the second syllable by dragging it out, bored enough to start nibbling on Harry's ear lobe.  
"Please wake up."

It takes two seconds after pulling off Harry's skin for the Dominus to stir. He grumbles unintelligably for a  
short second, one eye cracked open to reveal the most enchanting soft green. He smiles tiredly at his mate.  
"Hi." Louis chirps a greeting for him, bright as day and beaming while a lonely owl hoots outside.

"Hello." Harry squeezes Louis' waist and gives his bum a comforting pat. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Louis traces invisible circles and hearts on Harry's torso. "Baby won't let me sleep." 

Amusement shone through the glow in Harry's eye. "Then I must be awake too, yes?"

"Well-" Louis stretches himself out along the curve of Harry's body, toes digging into his one calf. "-you told  
me I could wake you up if that happened."

"I did and I wouldn't lie to my baby or my pup." Harry caught Louis pouting and winked, just in time to watch  
him blush bright pink. "This is my favourite colour on you."

Louis blushed even deeper and leaned in with a preen when Harry framed the left side of his face. He looked  
so content to smile shyly as he was, sprawled out atop Harry's heaving chest. The boy received a kiss on his  
dry parted lips, smiling into it when Harry sighed happily with shut eyelids and palms sliding over his mate's  
baby bump.

"I was thinking-" Harry managed to restrain himself and pull away for air, lips still lingering breaths closer to  
Louis. "-perhaps we can go on one last trip tomorrow."

Louis furrowed his brow. "What sort of trip, my love?"

Harry still had his eyes closed, head fallen back into his pillow. "The kind that would require four hours on the  
road."

"Four hours? Where will we be going?" His mate questions, surprised by the proposition as they've never  
travelled that far together since Harry brought him to his new home.

"There is a city on the outskirts of this territory, smaller in scale than Olympia. I'd still like to visit it for some  
final arrangements regarding our home there."

Harry's plan was to visit this lesser influential city area tomorrow so that he may speak with the woman who  
handled their affairs in Olympus, the far greater city across an ocean. Their newly purchased home there  
needed some things shipped ahead of them and a few furnishings put in.

"Also-" Harry rolls them onto their sides carefully, hearing the wheezing of Louis' breaths because of the  
pressure on his lungs. "-I'd like to sell this home."

Louis' eyes widen in rejection. "No. No, you can't."

Harry shook his head with a small smile, thumb brushing over Louis' bottom lip to say that the decision is  
already made. "Haud mirum, we can't have both."

"Harry, my love." Louis wrapped his hand around Harry's wrist, staring up into his eyes. "You built this home of  
ours. I don't want anyone else living in it."

"I know, beloved, but the situation cannot be helped." Harry started pushing his mate's feathery, unruly hair  
out of his face.

"B-But-" Louis inexplicably had tears forming in his eyes and Harry was shocked by them. "-this is our home,  
Harry. I can't-"

"Shh." Harry hastened to bring his unsettled mate closer, embracing him with both arms around his hot little  
body. "Hush, haud mirum. I will accept no tears from you." 

"Well you're s-selling our home." Louis jabs Harry's bicep hard enough for it to be felt and sniffles loudly from  
a blocked nose. "You can't do that, Harry."

"How can we have two homes across the world from one another, haud mirum?" Harry tries to reason with his  
upset better half, chest damp with Louis' tears.

"People do that all the time." Louis tried not to sound choked up, although he was and he sounded that much  
more saddened. "One day we can bring Baby back here."

Harry smiled down at his red-nosed and puffy bluest of blue eyed mate with quivering lips. He kissed those  
lips and tasted the saltiness of Louis' tears, growling because it displeased him.

"Alright, haud mirum. Alright." He broke his resolve for the sake of Louis and their first to-be born pup. "I'm  
sorry, beloved. Is that better?"

"A little." Louis hugged Harry around his waist. "I'm tired now."  
Harry couldn't help but chuckle, glad that their midnight slash obscenely early morning conversation had a  
point. "Go to sleep, haud mirum.."

* * * * *

"Do we have everything?" Louis poses the question of attitude to Harry, his Dominus who stood under the  
opened door of the trunk with his arms crossed.

"I'm certain we do, haud mirum." Replied he with a chuckle.

Louis had on the pastel pink sweater he's most fond of after Harry's lavender one, yoga pants for their  
exceptional comfort and Vans. He looked positively stunning to his Alpha mate, a bubbly personality all dolled  
up in sweet coating of baby colours and carrying a baby.

"What if we don't?" Louis nervously chewed his lower lip, standing against a pillar on the porch.  
"Well-" Harry let his arms drop and sauntered up to his adorable mate, an unsmothered smirk of charm taming  
his lips. "-we do."

Louis was caught by two hands on his waist when he was distracted by the leap of a doe to his left by the  
trees. He hadn't looked when Harry tugged him closer, the Dominus standing on the ground with the boy a  
head above him.

"Come now, my lover." Harry gave Louis' taut belly a kiss. "I do not want to be driving into the evening."  
As originally planned, Harry and he are making a trip to Olympia to visit their international real estate agent.  
Instead of simply going and coming back after a day, they decided to make a tiny getaway of it and spend the  
night. Louis thinks it's a brilliant idea to have a to-scale taste of the city life before they're living it.  
"Okay." Louis held Harry's shoulders when he was hoisted off the porch and placed on the ground swiftly. He  
remembers hating being short enough to be manhandled but with Harry, being lifted and carried - swept away  
\- was magical. "Let's do this." 

Harry flashes him a smirk, one worthy of Louis' awe and blush. The Dominus need not help his mate yet he  
does, securing an arm around the younger male's waist and leading him to the car. Louis has to be aided when  
getting seated because pregnant or not, his ability to climb into the vehicle was hindered by his height.  
The road down the mountain was along a rocky dirty road winding about the giant structure from peak to  
base. As he's orchestrated this drive many a time before, Harry has no problem with navigating a path down  
onto the tarred freeway.

Louis had a sensation much like air bubbles in his tummy but he knew for a fact it wasn't bubbles causing it.  
"Feel." He grabbed Harry's aimless hand off the leather console and guided it to his abdomen, placing the  
warm palm of his Dominus on his bare skin where he could feel their pup. "Can you feel 'im?"  
"Him?" Harry smiles at him quickly, eyes training themselves back onto the road. "You think our pup will be a  
boy?"

"Yeah." Louis' sweet voice was honey on over-heated skin. "He's going to be big and strong like his daddy."  
"I do not disagree." Harry squeezed Louis' hand in his and gave his fingertips a kiss. "A little princess for me to  
love and protect as I do with you will be just as perfect, haud mirum."

"Maybe a little girl will come later but but this bunny is definitely a boy." Louis promised him, his skin glowing  
and smile beaming brighter than the sun.

He curled his fingers through the gaps between Harry's and let the Dominus thumb at the small pudge he's  
gained after his baby bump stretched out the one he had since birth. The taut skin was golden from his many  
hours spent outside under the sun without a shirt and Harry at his side.

"Yeah?" Harry's smirk is salacious and worthy of making Louis blush the way he does. "You want more babies  
after bunny?"

Pink cheeks and twitching lips, Louis meets his Dominus' eye. He leans over and kisses Harry's jaw. "Of course  
I do. Not so soon after this baby is born but I still want to have your pups."  
Harry risked life and limb to nuzzle his mate's neck where their mark was, smiling significantly for those five  
seconds when he lay a kiss on Louis' throat to hear him whine. "Haud mirum, you are such a sweet  
distraction."

"Well that's not good." Louis giggles and pushes Harry away by his muscled shoulder. "You need to keep us  
alive on this road."

Harry's inner Alpha growled with the mention of being insufficient with care, rejecting the thought of such  
simple irresponsibility. Darkness clouds the infinite green of his eyes. "I have a solution."

It takes Harry all of two minutes to park in a roadside ditch where the ground was even and the wheels of his  
car were safe. He wastes no time no time at all in moving their unit to the back-seat, rather pushing his seat  
back as far as it will go and accommodating Louis on his lap.

With cars passing them by far and few between, Harry can imagine how awful it must seem to those strangers  
to have a car with foggy windows and gentle rocking motions parked off. He only thinks about it afterwards  
however. The boy in his lap, bouncing breathlessly on his c*ck is far more important. 

Harry grips Louis' soft fleshy hips with both hands, bruising the delightfully supple skin with his fingertips. He  
groans when Louis hastily got their bodies connected and growls when the boy starts to move. The slick drag  
of his erection against Louis' clenching walls was the finest sensation, bruising the tissue and slamming into  
his throbbing prostate.

Louis threaded his fingers through Harry's hair and kissed him blindly, tongues and teeth clashing with a  
sheen of sweat rolling off on each other. He whimpered at sudden athletic thrusts delivered by his Dominus,  
closing his eyes and tugging harshly on Harry's hair as he felt his behind being used for a severe pounding.  
"Louder, haud mirum." Harry's hips jerked and he rammed into his quivering mate, kneading the warmth of his  
thighs. "I want them all to hear you."

His mate still wanted to be careful for the baby he was carrying, but he lived to please his Dominus too. The  
conflict had him arching back onto the steering wheel and screaming himself hoarse when Harry continued to  
fuck into him without mercy or breaks. The base of his length began to fatten further and Louis was a mess,  
needing to be pinned down to keep from thrashing about.

Harry pulled Louis' hips down to his, slick and precome messing their thighs. His knot popped, stretching out  
his mate's insides far more. Louis' hand print stays on the misted glass when he slapped it on the window and  
rode out his orgasm with Harry's lips at his clavicle. He came down from the climax in time to feel Harry  
rubbing his back, whispering little nothings into his flushed ear and kissing the odd spot.  
"Are you alright, haud mirum? Did I hurt you at all?" Harry pushes his hands under Louis' rumpled sweater and  
frames the baby bump between them with both palms.

"We're okay." Louis kissed under the man's jaw, tucking his face into Harry's neck.  
Harry brushed some bits of Louis' messy hair out of his eyes and kissed his forehead. "I imagine you're going  
to nap for the rest of the drive?"

Louis poked Harry's bicep with his index finger, malice absent. "Better not be a distraction for you."  
"I'd take you and my pup as a distraction any day." Harry feels saddened by his knot deflating slowly, having  
caught on that Louis cannot be further impregnated.

Louis hums and stretches up to the sky, cracking his knuckles and covering his yawn with a closed fist. There  
was a special glow about him now, flushed and pink skin made extra sensitive because his Dominus could  
never stay away from him. Harry captures Louis' wrists on the uptake and slides down to his naked posterior,  
cupping the firm skin and inspecting the area where they're joined.

Immediately Louis starts to fuss, batting Harry's hands away. "Too sensitive now, my love."  
Harry sighed contentedly and leaned back in his seat, dimples making an infamous appearance.  
"What?" Louis pulled off Harry's c*ck with ease, letting the massive length slap against his abdomen. "Why're  
you so smug?"

Harry reached out and thumbed at Louis' sore nipples, pinning his mate's wrists behind his back when he  
resisted. "I have the prettiest mate from all the stories written under the stars."  
"You and I must have done something right in our lives." Louis replies, captive by his own Dominus. "Nothing  
and no one else can make me as happy as you do." 

* * * * *

Louis hates leaking.

Harry knots him a minimum of three times a day, irrespective of venue - he's been unable to put a stop to  
Harry taking him against a tree - and time. Their escapades were wonderful, mind-blowing in fact, but the  
worst part was when Louis remembered Harry had a thing for his come staying inside him and never got to  
clean himself. He planned to ask Harry to accompany him on a visit to a more personal store for a solution.  
They're in new territory, the room of their hotel in Olympia. Evening has just fallen and the skies are  
darkening, as they can see through the wall-sized window. Harry has just finished bringing their bags up via  
the elevator and Louis could tell he was tired but the proud Dominus wasn't giving in.

"Have a nap, my love." Louis climbed up onto Harry's laps, jeans and all. "I know you want to."  
Harry surrendered by caging Louis' waist and rolling over to render his mate helpless. "You'll take one with  
me?"

Louis freed his hands to run through Harry's curls. "I'm not tired and I would like to have a shower first."  
"I'll join you." Harry heaved himself up and off the bed.

However, Louis wasn't having any of it. He pushed the Dominus back down onto the bed and kept him there  
with a firm scowl. "You drove for eight hours so you will sleep now."

"I don't need a nap, haud mirum." Harry defended himself, propped up on his elbows and smirking devilishly.  
"I don't care." Louis went around the room scooping up miscellaneous items and removing his sweater to turn  
up the thermostat. "Close your eyes and pretend to sleep."

Harry groaned and fell back onto the sheets with an arm thrown over his visage. Upon an accident, his eyelids  
closed over his eyes. He heard shuffling and slowly the noises of the room began to fade away. Louis shook  
his head amusedly at his stubborn Dominus, but still removed his ridiculous jeans and boots for him. He  
pulled off the Dominus' socks and unclipped his prosthetic limb, setting it on the sofa seat by the window.  
In no time, he had Harry covered by a layer of bedsheets because of his awkward position in the middle of the  
bed. He gave the Dominus a kiss on his lips as a reward and whispered goodnight before pulling away.

He went into the spacious bathroom next, dumping their shared vanity case on the counter and taking out his  
toothbrush to slot into a glass tumbler. His skin was prickly and sticky from such a long trip, all of which he  
planned to annihilate with a good, long shower. Harry was still sleeping, strewn across the mattress with his  
snores muffled by the pillow on his side.

Louis took a shower of decent duration, not stepping out from under the warm spray until his skin was  
squeaky clean and he felt fresh. The hotel had fluffy white robes and slippers under the bathroom counter,  
one set of which he slipped on after towelling off.

Being careful not to raise too much havoc, Louis tiptoes to the bags where his clothes were. He dug through  
the folded heaps he created within the night before, seeking out the little pink box he packed underneath his  
conventional underwear. 

His Dominus stirred in his slumber like he knew Louis was up to something naughty. Harry didn't wake up  
though and Louis got to uncover his lower half quickly enough to drag the lace up his hairless thighs and  
wiggle them onto the fit over the curve of his behind. He hoped the surprise for his Dominus when he woke up  
would be worth it.


	13. chapter thirteen

Louis mewled and let his weight fall forward, tummy cradled by a dampened pillow from their currently  
extravagant hotel room. He was sore and Harry didn't seem to care, making Louis doubt whether today was  
the day to wear his pastel pink panties.

Harry had woken up from his nap feeling far more rejuvenated than his mate thought he could be, and Louis  
opened his eyes soon to being roughly eaten out under the covers. The secret was explicit and Harry's form  
was beneath the comforter, hidden from sight as he sloppily worked his tongue into his mate.

After one orgasm that way, Louis thought it would be over. He thought. His Dominus was quite convincingly  
an animal and covered his body with his own, thrusting once into his clenching tight heat and fucking  
indelicately to prompt his knot. Louis didn't hate the mistreatment of his Dominus, not at all. He just made  
sure that his front was cushioned and accepted a kiss with too much tongue and teeth from the Dominus  
looming over him.

It's now three hours later and Harry had cancelled an appointment with the real estate agent to pin Louis to  
their bed. The sheets were destroyed and so were Louis' treasured panties, drenched in his slick and Harry's  
come as it continually leaked out of him. There was already a tear in it from how desperately Harry pushed it  
aside to bury his monster c*ck in Louis' petite body.

His Dominus was careful with him. Careful enough, really. He cradled the back of Louis' head when the boy  
was on his back, sucking deep painful bruises into his neck as he bucked his hips wildly to their own rhythm.  
His hips slammed into Louis' pelvic bone, turning the skin flushed and stinging. Growls and groans of pleasure  
from Harry's inner Alpha surfaced to the air above their heads, the entire bed shifting with how earnest his  
thrusts were.

Louis could do little else other than hold onto Harry's shoulders, already having made enough red scratched  
lines down the Dominus' back to leave the skin broken and sensitive. He has never had sexual encounters  
before Harry and never at all has he experienced it so passionately.

For three hours his body was worshipped by the same pair of lips, every inch of him touched and praised. He  
would keen whenever Harry got between his legs, where his hole was throbbing and gaping after being used  
so thoroughly. He shivered permanently whenever Harry came up to his level and started thrusting, working  
open his hot and tired little body until it accommodated him.

In Harry's eyes were a fire Louis hardly ever saw. He was more beast than man when he popped his knot and  
flooded Louis' body with his seed. It was more than an orgasm to him everytime he did it, as it formed a  
connection from him to his mate and his unborn pup.

For three entire hours Louis wasn't allowed to leave the bed. He stayed under Harry for majority of the time  
and even got fed some apple and crackers on it to replenish his nutrition. Harry made a call to the real estate  
agent with Louis whimpering beneath his body, thighs hooked over Harry's hips and body exposed as the   
Dominus pounded into him. It was obscene the way they behaved, sanctioned fully by their bond and  
courtship.

The most noteworthy thing Louis got be a part of was when Harry tore his ruined panties off his legs. The  
fabric was sheer and thin, easily breaking off his skin. Harry was proud of what he'd done to them, left them  
crumpled and destroyed somewhere amongst the sheets they'd kicked off the bed hours ago.

Now, it was well past nightfall and Harry's mouth was connected to Louis' in one last unbreakable union. The  
boy tasted his own slick as he lost the battle for dominance, allowing the Dominus to overtake his senses.  
Harry was moving his hips slowly, working his way in and out of Louis' tender behind. He felt the walls clench  
and throb, the boy's thighs quivering as he threatened to come again and add to the mess on his tummy.  
"Haud mirum." Harry seemed to gasp like he couldn't breathe was his knot inflated and he hastily pushed all of  
himself into his mate.

Louis couldn't respond. He was exhausted and Harry's knot was tugging on his rim, the sensitive skin there  
rapidly clenching around the wide girth.

"Did I hurt you?" Harry pushed himself up onto his elbows and ran his hand through his hair, drawing back the  
sweaty strands.

Shaking his head weakly, Louis mumbled a drowsy complaint when he couldn't find a comfortable dry spot to  
lie in. He twitched and Harry's enormous knot shifted inside him, stretching him out more than his taut body  
could endure.

"I'm sorry for being so callous with you, haud mirum." Harry ran his hands along Louis' sides, calming the  
embers of arousal that were finally dying down.

Louis huffed tiredly and closed his eyes, sinking into the sheets without a care for whether or not he was  
messing himself further with remnants from the bed. He sighed happily and felt Harry's arms case his hips,  
two strong bands locked tightly around him and their pup.

"I think we can agree that panties aren't a good idea." Harry kisses along the bone behind Louis' ear, a smirk  
playing on his lips.

Louis blushes from hearing so and mewls when Harry finds reason to magnetise his hips to the boy's pert yet  
red bottom, digging his knot in deeper. "Y-You simply cannot go any deeper, my love."

Harry's chuckle is marvellously close to Louis' ear lobe, the Dominus' teeth latching onto the soft skin with a  
growl. "Get your sleep, my lover. Try not to awaken and put on any other lace underwear."  
Louis starts to pout when he thinks about his destroyed underwear. "You ruined them."

"I believe I did." Harry isn't even ashamed to admit it. He's smirking boldly and with nobility. "It was quite an  
honour."

"I've only got one pair." Louis swats Harry's arm when it comes over his chest to crush him. He squeals with  
laughter.

"I'll buy you a thousand more. One in every colour." Harry professes. "Should you put them on they'll all have  
the same fate as this one." 

Louis' giggles are muted by his yawn. He smiles in the oncomings of his sleep and Harry cuddles him close like  
he's a lost treasure just recently rebundled. His Dominus breathes harshly into his neck where their bond mark  
was throbbing with the intensity of their reimbursed intimacy.

"That won't be necessary." Louis linked their fingers together and kissed the back of Harry's palm.  
"Sleep tight, haud mirum." Harry's lips met Louis' cheekbone.

* * * * *

Louis announced at something to seven in the afternoon that he was restless and being cooped up in just one  
hotel room was making their pup antsy. Harry had been on the phone with their real estate agent, attempting  
to make another appointment for the next day now that their stay has been extended.

Promptly entering the brightly illuminated bathroom behind his Dominus, Louis breathed in the lingering  
scents of their hotel shampoo - Harry's hair was still damp from his shower - after swapping their messed  
bedsheets for clean ones. He saw Harry leaning against the bathroom counter in front of the basin that was his  
target and so shuffled forward in slacks and a crop top of sorts.

"Tomorrow at eight in the night?" Harry briefly glanced at his mate, shorter in height with a head of the softest  
hair that's freshly washed and dried. He presses a kiss as a greeting to Louis' temple when the boy nears him.  
Louis wanted a hot cup of herbal tea that's void of caffeine and beneficial to the growing pup inside him. He  
was still waddling slightly instead of walking confidently and one had to be his salacious Dominus mate to  
know why. Now, he wanted to fill the little mobile kettle with water and Harry was blocking the sink so he  
batted the Dominus' arm aside without making a sound and turned the tap on.

Harry cleared his throat through a chuckle to maintain his conversation with a stranger on the other end. He  
watched Louis with devilish green eyes, a smirk curving his lips. No guilt riddled him regarding Louis' tender  
state whatsoever. He, as any Dominus would be, was proud to have a mate so submissive yet full of  
personality.

"Thank you." He hangs up just as the real estate confirms his appointment and Harry nearly cracks the screen  
of his phone in an attempt to grasp an easily escaping Louis by his hips.

The boy squeaks when he's lifted and dragged back to his Dominus, bare feet colliding with Harry's and eyes  
narrowing in mock distaste. "What are you up to?"

Harry bent down low to nuzzle Louis' neck affectionately, soft rumbles coming from his chest. "I should ask  
you that, my lover."

"I want tea-" Louis pouts up at him. "-and you were on the phone."

Humming, the Dominus bends down low enough to peck the tip of Louis' nose. "Well, I'm all yours now."  
"Yay." Louis softly cheered, gathering the kettle back up and walking into the adjoined room. "Can we go out?"  
Harry sits on the neatly set bed, tapping away on his phone while briefly catching glimpses of every move  
Louis made. "Where would you like to go?" 

Louis thinks it through for a short while, pressing the button on the kettle holder and readying a mug. He  
tears open a teabag's packet and pops it into the mug. "How about for a walk?"

"Just a walk?" Harry's voice held hints of mirth, lighting up his eyes as he sauntered over to his lovely little  
mate.

He reached over Louis' shoulder and flip off the kettle and turn Louis around, arms wrapped around the boy's  
upper arms. His mate settles instantly into his embrace, burying his face in Harry's neck. It was warm there for  
him to get a relaxing dose of his Dominus' masking scent.

"How does that sound?" Louis asks, muffled by Harry's broad and bare shoulder against his lips.  
Harry rubs up and down the curve of Louis' spine, teasing the little knobs on her spinal column with tiny  
scratching motions. "I like it."

Louis smiles brightly at the finalised decision and makes to move out of Harry's arms, getting stopped just a  
foot away.

"Put something on first, haud mirum." Harry thumbed at the hem of Louis' cotton crop top. Such attire was  
inappropriate for eyes besides his.

With a fond roll of his eyes, Louis pulled his hand free and saluted Harry with a giggle. He rummages through  
their suitcases until coming across one of Harry's older shirts with a red plaid design and two buttons missing  
at the bottom. It would come down to his thighs anyway.

Louis slips on decent outdoor shoes on his feet while Harry locates his boots, switching his top for a shirt  
while Harry pulled a random one over his head. The Dominus found his wallet, phone and keys before waiting  
for Louis by the door. His mate met him there in the darkness cast over their shadows by a towering wall.  
Harry gave Louis a kiss first, stealing his hand away from the doorknob and lacing their fingers. He feels the  
boy's smile on his lips and replicates it, teeth tugging on Louis' lower lip for one last taste.

"Come on." Louis bursts into giggles when Harry threatens to deepen their state, grabbing the man's wrist and  
freeing themselves into the hallway.

The carpeted floor softens their footsteps and Harry locks their hotel room, following right behind his mate as  
Louis led him towards the elevators. The passage was vacant and they saw no other occupants of the floor,  
granting Harry the perfect opportunity to spin Louis around as the elevator doors opened and pick him up by  
his thighs. Louis held onto his shoulders, a gasp let out into Harry's ear as the Dominus chuckled smugly and  
watched the doors closed.

"Who says you're not mischievous?" Louis teases him with a nip to Harry's jaw. He slides off the man's hips and  
to the ground. "Our pup is going to be twice as much so."

Harry's smirk is pressed into Louis' mating mark, sharp canines grazing the sensitive skin. He dismisses the  
comment. "We are going outside, haud mirum. I have rules for that."

Louis expected that much to be true. He raised an antagonistic brow. "And those are?"

Harry first brought Louis' hand to his lips, walking out of the elevator into the lobby as he blessed each  
knuckle with a kiss. "Don't speak to anyone but me." 

Louis finds the cold outside their hotel to be too strong, the breeze light enough to be less than violent. He  
tucks himself into Harry's side, under his arm and protected by the Dominus' body warmth. "I do that anyway."  
"Yes but-" Harry starts them on a path Westward, taking an easy route leading to more of a hub of city life. "-  
you had no choice before."

The lights of the city were coming to life, summoning those who crawled in the night. It was a breathtaking  
sight to witness the flickering of neon lights and strengthening of crowds outside pubs. People were buzzing  
all around them for different purposes, loud and chatting to their companions.

Harry was cautious with where he allowed Louis to walk even though he was right there. He kept Louis curled  
in under his arm, the boy's body held exceptionally close to his own if it was going to be safe.

They started on this trail and passed some closed jewellery stores, opening bars and had a club ahead. Harry  
seemed to see everything without particularly looking and it's a trait that no city-born Dominus possessed.  
"That looks cute." Louis pointed out a quaint little florist with wheelbarrows of roses at the entrance and a  
baby blue banner.

It was a few meters away from them and they didn't slow their pace to hurry along either. Harry kissed Louis'  
forehead and clutched his hip, lowering his arm to encircle the boy's waist. Other people, strangers with  
beautiful faces and dull personalities, were looming about harmlessly getting on with their elicit affairs. More  
often than Harry cared for did they pass a short alley with a couple cloaked by that darkness, allowing  
themselves to get too intimate.

"What?" Louis looked up at his Dominus, feeling how tense the man was against him. "You have that look in  
your eye."

Harry glanced at him through his peripheral. "What look, haud mirum?"  
"That one." Louis stopped him at a safe distance away from the awaiting patrons of a nightclub, stepping in  
front of his Dominus at a parking meter. He reached up on his tiptoes and thumbed over the creases on  
Harry's brow.

Harry sighed. "You know I don't approve of many things happening here."

Louis' eyes were so blue under the light of a street post, so hypnotic in their pull on Harry's gravity. "Not  
everyone had the upbringing we did, my love."

"Regardless." Harry made an unhappy noise in his throat. He looked back over his shoulder at the alley.  
"People here are so....indiscreet."

"Yes, my Dominus. They are and that's who they are." Louis brushed some of Harry's hair away from his  
scorching green eyes. His earnest in trying to prove that it'll all be okay shines distinctly against the deep  
colour of his eyes. "You have certain skills that they never will."

Harry glares at something over Louis' shoulder before pulling his mate closer, their chests colliding and the  
Dominus able to reassure himself that his pup is protected. "Like self-restraint and-"

"Shh. I didn't give you permission to ridicule them." Louis taps Harry's frozen lips mid-motion with his index  
finger and recaptures the man's hand shortly after.   
"I apologise." Harry continues their trek down a sidewalk towards a quieter part of the city. They come by the  
florist and he gets an idea. "Come."

"What?" Louis blinks in misconception.  
Harry knows his mate inside and out by now, and chuckles in an uncensored manner when he realises Louis'  
understanding. He tugs on his better half's wrist to bring him with him. "Not that, my lover. Come with me."  
"Oh." Louis' cheeks flare up in embarrassment and he scrambles closer to his awaiting Dominus as the wind  
picks up.

"Don't be ashamed." Harry curls his arm protectively around Louis' narrow shoulders and kisses his temple.  
Harry escorts him into the lovely little establishment entitled something French and florescent. Louis' smile is  
permanent when he walks in and all he can smell are flowers of all kinds. The kind old woman behind the  
counter has a child, probably her grandson, perched on the structure beside the register.

Louis goes to the first display where roses and lilies are arranged in beautiful bouquets. He brushes his thumb  
over the brightest sunflowers he's ever seen and sighs a little sadly at thinking he'll never get to have his own  
now that they're moving out of the cabin.

His hand still caught in Harry's, Louis chews his lip in pondering over what choice to make here. Seeing all this  
grandeur tucked into one little store is mind-blowing enough. He feels his Dominus distractedly grazing over  
his knuckles as he looked at the other flowers in deep thought.

Louis never saw his expression like this before, lips sewn in a thin line but eyes disguising a million emotions.  
"Hey there." Louis brings himself closer, step by step. He's finally plastered to Harry's side with an arm  
tightening out of reflex around his hips.

Harry lightly shakes his head as if to break out of his reverie. He smiles at Louis but it doesn't reach his eyes  
like they should, the demons still lurking in the latter fending off the bliss. "Haud mirum, these are ghost  
orchids."

Louis looks at what Harry is speaking about and nearly has to squint to see the flower at all. Thin, white petals  
flow from an invisible centre. They were true to their name and appeared like ghosts, the legs wide open as if  
they were always in dance.

"They're pretty." But Louis had a feeling that their attractiveness isn't why Harry introduced him to them.  
"What's wrong?"

Harry took a quick breath, his jobless hand reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he looked to the  
ground. Louis followed him there, concerned enough to have his heart leap into his throat. He extended his  
arm and cupped Harry's cheek, guiding him back to have their eyes meet.

"My love?" He coaxed, more desperate than ever to know what's clouding the warmth and joy in Harry's soul.  
The Dominus kissed Louis' wrist where it was so close to his lips. "If I remember anything about my childhood,  
haud mirum, it's that I used to bring ghost orchids to my mother everyday." 

Louis is surprised to say the least when describing how he felt after hearing this. Harry's never revealed a  
smidgen of information about his family before leaving them to become a Dominus. It was gutwrenching to  
hear. Louis felt his Dominus' reminiscent sadness and hated it, wanted to make him happy again.  
"Oh my love." Louis pulled Harry's forehead down to rest against his, the Dominus' eyes closed and hands  
tightening on his hips. "I'm sorry you have to feel this way when you remember your childhood."  
Harry growled but it wasn't threatening, hardly deadly at all, and instead provocative. It was also a little  
wounded and that broke Louis' heart.

"It's not a sad memory." Harry tells to him in promise, nipping at Louis' soft skin. "I just wish I didn't have it."  
"Can I help you find something, dear?" The lady behind the counter is no longer there, now instead right next  
to him.

Louis smiled politely at her and tried to get his hand to lower when he realised Harry still had it captive. "No  
thank you."

She had freckles on her nose and definitely a beautiful face from her youngest years. "Alright. Let me know if  
you need help then, okay?"

"We will." Louis sees her grandson in denim overalls and sneakers clinging to the skirt of her dress. He waves  
at the toddler who has his thumb between his lips. "Hello there."  
The grandchild hides further from him, only his pale legs peeking out from behind. Louis adores him already  
and the child's grandmother fondly ruffles his hair.

"Say hello, Johan." She encourages just as Louis begins to feel Harry's presence behind him, hands settling  
over his hips.

"H-Hello." Says the smallest of their company, doubtfully exposing his one eye to smile fleetingly.  
Louis crouches down to his level and Harry is unsettled by such a compact position. He starts to say  
something when Louis squeezes his wrist to reassure him.

"How are you today?" Louis asks Johan with a small arch to his lips, his sapphire blue settling the nerves of this  
grey-eyed boy.

Johan comes out a bit more. His nose was the exact shape of his grandmother's and his eyes were always  
pronounced. "G-Good and h-how are you?"

"I'm fine." Louis laughs and watches Johan's expression relax from uptight.  
"He's very shy with strangers." His grandmother explains to Louis as Harry brings him back up to his feet.  
"This is the best I've seen him interact with others."

Louis listens to her with genuine interest while Harry's hands don't waver from extending towards his front.  
The Dominus remains undeterred as he rests his palms over Louis' bump where he can protect best his mate  
and pup.

"How far along?" The florist owner asks, briefly seeing Louis' prominent baby bump.  
"Five months." Louis answers with a proud smile, giving up on trying to relax Harry's possessive nature.   
"Really?" Her shock is evident. "You're quite big for five months?"

"Yes." Louis becomes reserved about this matter. He's never witnessed a pregnancy nor had anyone to aid him  
in his from experience. How could know if something was unconventional?

"I would double check on those little ones, sweetheart." She says kindly, picking up on Louis' anxiety. "Having  
a bump that big could only mean multiples."

* * * * *

"You're cold, haud mirum."

"A little." Louis buries his face in Harry's neck for this moment they have absently standing in the middle of the  
sidewalk. He hides his hands inside his shirt sleeves and hugs his middle. "You're warm though."

They've managed to leave the florist unscathed and with one ghost orchid that Louis got as a gift from Harry.  
The Dominus chose to hold him close ever since the woman spoke to them, as if he could communicate that  
way with the lives in Louis' womb.

"I am always." Harry all but lifts his huddled mate off the ground and into the cafe on their left.

The cafe is quiet and smells of cinnamon rolls with icing. The smell of coffee is decadent and sweet like the  
treats on display in a warm glass case. Harry found them a booth in the back by a window, where they can  
safely watch everyone beyond the window without being in their vicinity.

"Do you think she's right?" Louis asks out of the blue with his hands laced together over the table. A navy  
Japanese lantern sat between them beside a propped menu of what the cafe offered.

Harry was extracting his wallet from his back pocket and leaving his phone on the table. He pauses to raise an  
eyebrow at his mate. "Who, haud mirum?"

"The woman at the florist." Louis responds, dropping the menu and dragging it towards him to read. He had a  
hand on his bump. "About bunny."

"About whether it could actually be bunnies?" Harry grasped Louis' smaller, colder hand in his grip and gently  
stroked over the racing pulse beneath his papery skin. "I don't know, my lover. We will see our doctor once we  
are home again."

"Do you think-" Louis sat up straighter in his seat and leaned forward, eyes darkening with the dim lighting  
and one tiny flame from the lantern reflecting off the center orb. "-we should see a doctor here? For a second  
opinion, maybe."

Louis was insecure about asking this of his Dominus but it had to be done because it concerned their unborn  
pup - or pups - that needed all their attention. He chewed his bottom lip as nerves worried him.  
"We will." Harry reassures him with a soft smile, dimples making an appearance right at the end. "If that's what  
you desire, haud mirum, we will see a doctor here."

"Thank you. It will really make me feel better." His mate responds with a breath of relief. 

Harry waits for Louis to read the menu quickly and pick something to order above the others. The Dominus  
almost frowns at Louis' decision of a meat-less sandwich and chocolate milkshake. He leaves Louis for the  
short minute it takes to place their orders at the counter, a fresh kale and apple smoothie for himself.  
"I always thought kale was a name." Louis was reading the receipt with his legs crossed under the table, licking  
his lip at odd moments. "Isn't it?"

"It is." Harry does something fleeting on his phone before putting it away in his pocket. He leans forward to  
take the receipt out of Louis' hands and replace it with his hold. "You haven't seen it around the cabin?"  
"No." Louis flexes his fingers, shorter and thinner than Harry's. He's scrunching his brow in weak recollection.  
"Has it been around the cabin often?"

Harry chuckles fondly and gets up to fetch their food. He first places a kiss to Louis' forehead, firm and  
certain. "Think about it, haud mirum

* * * * *

"My love, I can't possibly remember any kale ever being around the house." Louis is so sure that his Dominus  
is playing some sort of mind game with him.

The man's smoothie came back glistening green and crisp from the apple traces. Louis would surely remember  
anything that green. Since then, he's eaten an unsatisfying sandwich and joined Harry for the short trek back  
to their hotel. The city was just awakening and it was a beautiful sight to behold, people of such diversity  
inter-mingling for the sake of the darkest hour.

"Haud mirum, I've bought it everytime we went into town." Harry tosses his empty cup into the nearest bin and  
secures his arm even tighter around Louis. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"No, no." Louis replies distractedly, facing the path ahead in thought. He has a cold nose and his fingers are  
nearly frozen off. How can people be out at this time?

"Let's get you back to the hotel." Harry sees the building in close proximity to them and let's Louis walk ahead  
of him, arms still extended forward at all times.

Louis warmed his hands up by blowing into them in the elevator on their way up. He closed his eyes when  
Harry reeled him in and fitted their bodies together, kissing his fringe before letting him rest for a short time.  
Louis stayed awake thought, his fingers curled around Harry's shirt buttons and he yawned often enough to  
tear up.

Their hotel room is just as they'd left it and Louis makes a beeline for the bathroom. He strips off his shirt and  
shoes until he's bare-foot and shirtless. Harry turns on the kettle and checks that it has sufficient water for tea  
while Louis finds his shorts and adjusts the thermostat to be warmer.

The boy beams when Harry brings him a mug of warm herbal tea, sitting in the armchair by the window across  
from his mate. "Thank you."

Harry winks at him in retaliation and gets Louis' feet in his lap. "Of course you're welcome, haud mirum."   
Louis let's the beverage cool down between his hands, looking out through the window beyond the curtains  
into the street below. "I wonder what people do at this late hour."

"What they shouldn't." Harry shrugs when Louis rolls his eyes at him.

"Hardly." Louis looks back down at his drink, twirling the teabag's tag around. "They probably lived this life  
from as young as possible, and then had generations before doing the same thing."

Harry hums in agreement and takes a scalding sip from his coffee. He hates coffee but would rather go  
tomorrow to buy tea than let Louis go without it so he can have it. "I think you're a little more curious about  
it."  
Louis scoffs but it's easily disproved to be true. "Maybe."

The Dominus smirks in a devious manner and he pinches Louis' shin in a way that makes him giggle. Louis  
tries not to jostle their mugs too much as he straightens his legs, feet pressed up against the back of the chair  
on either side of Harry.

"We can always go exploring, haud mirum. Enquire more information for ourselves." Harry explains through a  
hoarse chuckle and a cough to clear his throat.

"Maybe we'll have to." Louis says for the sake of their baby. They're going to start a family in an environment  
of a culture that neither of them are learned in. It terrifies them both to think they might fail as parents.  
"Tomorrow night we'll take a longer walk."

Harry's burst of laughter is truly amused and it lingers in his eyes thusly. All his mate does is pout, his lips  
licked and eyes turning into crystal saucers. The night sky was beautiful but Louis will always prefer the view  
they had back at the cabin, raw and untouched.

When it grew late enough and more people were bustling about outside their room door, Harry ushered Louis  
to bed. The boy was yawning an innumerable amount of times and could barely walk without tripping over  
nothing. Eventually, it came down to Harry picking him up and tucking him in under the covers before a chaste  
goodnight kiss was shared.

"Keep my pup safe, haud mirum." Harry said with his lips on Louis' bump. "While I keep you safe."

Louis preened at the affection his baby bump got and silently requested another kiss with his puckered lips.  
They couldn't hear the crickets from how high up they were and there were no wild animals, harmless or not,  
wandering about trying to get home. Usually those sounds of untainted nature were soothing to Louis  
especially during his pregnancy but now that they're absent he has to bite his lip and try harder to fall asleep.


	14. chapter fourteen

"I'm listening." Harry told the real estate agent that sat across from him at this massive oak desk with little to  
nothing on it.

He was naturally speaking a lie to the balding, well-dressed professional because every two seconds his  
troubled eyes would dart to where Louis was standing at the vast window looking out at God knows what. The  
Dominus hadn't heard a word from him ever since they stepped into this office and it bothered him. Louis had   
greeted the agent and stood by the panoramic view rather than take a seat, a hand braced over his covered  
baby bump.

"As you can see, Mr. St- uh- Dominus. The owners of the complex where you'll be living are happy to have  
furnishings put in before you arrive." Mr. Spencer Larsson informed Louis' mate.

Louis himself coughed to cover his giggle and thankfully the glass didn't capture a decent reflection of him.  
Another facet of the city life that Harry disagreed with - hated rather - is that everyone is addressed by their  
names. Where they come from, a Dominus is called such as a sign of respect. It's an old tradition but  
customary nonetheless.

Harry knew by this suspicious laughter turned poorly performed foe cough that his mate is not upset, only  
currently pretentious.

"They would?" Harry was surprised by this gesture of kindness.

"Yes." Larsson replied with a confident nod, opening up the folder on their future home to hand Harry a card.  
"You can speak to them yourself."

"I think I will." Harry said ponderously, getting up from his seat. "However it will be to tell them that their  
kindness is for naught. My mate and I will be sending our own belongings up to Olympia."

Their meeting ends shortly after that. Larsson gives them the folder containing basic information and  
photographs of the apartment they'll be moving into. It's promised to have three bedrooms all as en-suites  
and a kitchen Louis' most excited for. There's going to be a cosy fireplace for the winter and never-ending  
windows for the summer.

"How are you feeling, haud mirum?" Harry asks once they're out of the office block and he's walking with Louis  
back to their hotel. It's a short distance and Louis insisted they leave the car at the hotel.

"Great." Louis chirped, swinging the unit of where their hands are connected a little.

Harry stopped short to pull his mate closer to his chest and sets his fringe, brushing the cherry-scented locks  
of hair back over his eyes after purposely covering them. Louis pouts and Harry kisses that concern away in  
the middle of the sidewalk. The Dominus displays his adoration for his mate by pecking his forehead and not  
letting Louis shrug him off.

"You push me away too often now, my lover." He observes when they're back on the path again, keeping Louis  
near and ahead of him. "Why is that?"

"I-I don't know." Louis shrugs and apologetically bows his head to look at his shoes. "Baby doesn't like lots of  
contact, I think."

"Don't worry, haud mirum. I fully intend to convince Baby that I'm the exception." Harry loves to see Louis'  
smile so wide that it brightens all his features and brings the kindest crinkles to the corners of his eyes.

An ice cream parlour is on their way back and Louis stops his Dominus forcefully to get a sugar cone of  
bubblegum and chocolate. The two scoops are heavy and Harry has no faith that Louis will survive in carrying  
them so when it starts to drip, he takes over.

"That's mine." Louis protests when Harry steals his treat just a few feet from the glass lobby entrance of their  
hotel. 

Harry smirks at his mate the way he does when he's been preparing a reply all his life. "And you're mine so  
that fixes that."

Louis crosses his arms with a huff over his narrow chest and tries not to gape at his mate cleaning up the  
leaking mess of his ice cream by use of his lips and tongue. It comes back to him neater but that's not the  
point.

"Thank you." Louis snatches the snack back and shields it from Harry, not caring for the remnants of Harry's  
taste left on his ice cream.

He also has too much pride presently to admit that blue and brown milky droplets are rolling down his wrist.  
In the elevator with light jazz music playing in the background, his Dominus surrenders to the pity he displays  
for his overwhelmed lover. He takes Louis by the hand and in a dignified manner, drags his tongue over the  
tracks of melted ice cream. Louis watches him in stony awe and remarkable interest, the unspeakable look in  
Harry's eye being one of salacious interest and amusement.

"My love." Louis can't seem to take his own back despite his efforts as Harry holds him prisoner.  
Harry delves into a profoundly fond smirk and he guides Louis down the carpeted hallway to their room. After  
inserting the key card into the door, he finds a saucer for which is meant the teacups. He puts Louis' ice cream  
on that saucer and cracks the cone in a clean cup, handing both over to his mate after Louis' tucked in under  
the covers of their king-sized bed.

"Comfortable?" Harry leans over the edge and kisses Louis' forehead, pulling the fluffy comforter up to tuck  
under Louis' sides.

Louis beams with a closed mouth and gets rewarded with a peck on his sticky lips. Harry hands him the  
remote of the television and goes into bathroom to wet a flannel. He comes back to Louis watching a romantic  
drama and wipes the clammy fingers of his mate until they're clean down to his forearms.

"Come 'ere." Harry stripped off his shirt before anything else and climbed into bed behind his mate.  
Content to do as told, Louis balances his saucer and cup as he let's Harry slot himself in behind him. He can  
lean back against his Dominus' bare torso and hum delightedly when his dominant mate slips his capable  
hands under the covers and under Louis' shirt to caress the humbling accomplishment that is his pup.  
"Hmm." Harry kisses Louis' temple, behind his ear and further down to where his pulse beats strongly. "You  
taste finer than anything edible, my lover."

Louis' giggles was both amused and embarrassed. "Should I be concerned that you might eat me?"  
"You should actually." Harry growled playfully and latched his teeth onto Louis' neck, a broad smile to tame his  
features.

Managing to redirect Harry's attention or at the very least, lessen the intensity of his affection, Louis continues  
to scoop away at his melted ice cream and watch the TV screen. He's lost the plot already but the aesthetically  
pleasing landscape views are worth watching.

"I want to go to a bookstore later." Louis tells his Dominus randomly. "Can we?" 

"We have a library at home, haud mirum." Harry isn't exaggerating. Where there's supposed to be a tiny study  
in their lovely cabin, the Dominus has stacked and stored books over the years.

"I've been through almost every one of your books." Louis informs him, setting aside the dishes he has on the  
night stand. "By the way, what was your criteria for choosing those books?"  
\  
Harry shrugs nonchalantly. "Some were gifts and others caught my eye. Why?"

"You know-" Louis crosses his legs between Harry's, knees resting atop his Dominus'. "-you possess quite a  
few novels that we'll have to lock away before baby gets here."

"What do you mean?" Harry's brow furrows as he considers this information.  
Louis looks disbelievingly at his Alpha mate. "You're telling me you didn't know about the....naughty books in  
your collection?"

"No." Harry gasps and withdraws to look his mate in the eye, wanting to know more of this. "Do I have naughty  
books in my library?"

"Yup." Louis' eyes have that particularly devious twinkle in his eye. Harry wraps his hand around this sweet  
boy's neck and tilts his head back, kissing him to transpire the yearning he always experiences with Louis.  
"I think I'll look into this matter when we get home." Harry's lips curl against Louis', their mouth still connected  
and their eyes closed.

"What for?" Louis whispers, timid and a little smile of his own teasing his lips.

Harry answers by pecking Louis' lips and effortlessly rolling them over. Louis giggles and yelps when he's  
pulled under the broad structure of his brutish mate, looking up at him with expectations rising. The Dominus  
dips down and peppers kisses over Louis' mark and moves lower to his clavicle, nipping at the bone that  
protruded through papery pale skin.

"As your Dominus-" Harry's bare torso flexes as do the abs of his abdomen. Louis bites his lip and reaches out  
to run his cold fingertips over the rippling muscle, pulling his mate closer between his legs. "-it's my duty to  
satisfy you, haud mirum."

Louis chokes on a scream when he tries to suppress it and whimpers loudly when Harry's presence is asserted  
between his thighs, warm hands running up his front to lock with his own. The pleasure is hot and rampant in  
his body, back arched and legs wrapped around Harry's head, small but high-pitched sounds tumbling from  
his slackened jaw.

Harry eats Louis out until he's crying and climaxed thrice, his body too sensitive to go on but the Dominus  
ignores all please. He knows when his mate's body really cannot handle more and now isn't then. With Louis'  
nails raking down his back, making him hiss and sink his teeth deeper into the boy's neck, Harry crawls over  
to lay above Louis and enter his mate in the sweetest way.

Louis makes the prettiest noises when he's over-stimulated and doesn't let Harry down with them now. His  
eyes are wide and his jaw permanently gaping, frozen in a silent scream. He locks his ankles around Harry's  
waist and tugs on the Dominus' hair when he comes the fourth time completely dry, clenching around his  
mate's knot. Harry kisses him sloppily and stretches his body open, forcing it to accommodate him and mould  
to fit him, as his knot pops. 

The more a Dominus knotted their mate during a pregnancy, the more secure the Alpha felt that they were  
connecting with their lover and baby. Harry was no different and buried himself in his mate as deep as his  
body could go, the covers pulled over them and blocking out the world.

"You know, my love-" Louis played with Harry's hair while the Dominus rested his cheek on his taut tummy,  
calloused fingertips massaging his hips and wet lips on his bump. "-I miss playing games with you."  
Harry slid his arms under Louis' body and turned his attention to the window, using his mate's body as the  
finest pillow. "That's because I always let you win."

Louis gasped and thumbed over Harry's crater of a dimple. "You told me I won all on my own."  
"We weren't mated back then, haud mirum." Harry reminds him with a tender peck to his belly button. "I was  
still trying to win your favour."

Rolling his eyes, Louis props himself up with all the pillows on their bed and uses his little height advantage to  
start braiding Harry's hair. The Dominus was most content and comfortable where he was lying with his mate,  
caressing the skin that protected his unborn heir.

"Let's go out tonight." Harry suggests for the first time, watching the evening grow dark. "Rather, let me take  
you and baby out."

Louis fondly gazes down at his partially asleep Alpha mate that's blindly rubbing his sides. "What's your idea of  
going out?"

Harry answers in a murmur, his concentration slowly fading as he falls asleep. "I received an invitation to the  
opening of an art gallery not far from here tonight."

Louis uses Harry's hair-tie to knot the end of his single braid that's travelling down the side of Harry's face.  
"How did you get that invitation?"

"An old friend." Harry tries twice to sentence out fully, face turned in to nuzzle Louis' soft tummy.  
"Old friend?" Louis questions. He can't recall his Dominus ever bringing up old friends from any part of his life.  
"Hmm." Harry doesn't open his eyes even for Louis' concern. "She reached out to me just yesterday, haud  
mirum."

Now Louis pulls hard on Harry's hair enough to wake the Dominus up fully. Harry winces but doesn't make a  
sound and his molten green eyes turn dark when they look at his mate.

"What was that for?" Harry grits, not threateningly or cruelly. He's never rude to his lovely bonded partner for  
life.

Louis doesn't care. He despises that he can't physically pull away from Harry due to reasons but he sounds  
strict enough. "Tell me about your old friend."

Harry doesn't think anything of it. "I remember her vaguely from my younger years with my family. Hers lived  
next to mine and we used to play together."

Louis' unbalanced hormone and pheromone levels are off the charts. He tries not to let his Dominus how just  
how hard he's pinching the fabric of the sheets. "Why didn't you tell me yesterday about her invite?"   
"You were sleeping, haud mirum." Harry picks up on Louis' hostility and knows just how to overcome it. "Are  
you jealous, my lover?"

His knot has gone down so quickly and when Louis makes to move off him, Harry pins him down. A jealous  
mate made all sorts of twists in the taste of their scent and Harry delved into the juncture of his neck to lick all  
of it. Louis huffed petulantly and squirmed to get the Dominus off him but Harry held him down and started to  
snap his hips again.

"H-Harry, stop." Louis weakly protested, his abdomen clenching and walls squeezing another orgasm from his  
mate. No matter how fervent his resistance was, his body always wanted his Dominus.

"You know there's no need to be envious, baby." Harry let go of Louis' hands to grip his thighs so they bruised  
and jerked his hips, pounding into Louis' warm body with the hot squelch of slick and his growls to fill the air.  
"I'm yours."

Louis dragged his nails down Harry's back to leave it marked and Harry hissed out of feigned pain. It hardly  
hurt but the more he satisfied this impulsive side of his mate, the better. Harry's chest rumbled and he  
delivered a harsh blow to Louis' prostate, groaning when Louis mewled just the way he adored.  
"Listen to me." Harry spoke firmly, authority lacing his words.

He cupped Louis' behind off the bed and abused the stretched entrance of his lover, his come and Louis' slick  
getting fucked back into him for a purpose. The Dominus pulled them up with him into a seated position,  
throwing Louis' arms over his shoulders and thrusting upward to meet the roll of Louis' hips.  
"You are mine." Harry looked into Louis' eyes when he said it. "You carry my pup and have my knot in this  
pretty little body of yours. My soul is yours and so is my word. You have no reason to be jealous."

Louis was listening to him but had other priorities as well. His fingers grazed Harry's plump lips and he rode  
his Dominus' thick c*ck like he was determined. It was only natural of him to be jealous and Harry understood  
that, knew that by Louis kissing him with parted lips and letting him grope his perfect bum that he was trying  
to make Harry focus on him.

Harry knotted Louis like that, his arms embracing his mate and Louis wrapped around him like a vine. Louis  
came with a hiccup and sob, his body violently convulsing though it had nothing left to release.  
"I love you, my darling." Harry spoke after their breathing slowed. "My favourite place to be is inside you but I  
do hope this jealousy of yours is over now."

Louis looked up from where he rested his head on Harry's shoulder, now ashamed. "I'm sorry, my love. I had  
no right to be so-"

"Stop, haud mirum." Harry framed Louis' cheek and looked to his mate like he worshipped him. "You had a  
right to be jealous. The fault is mine. I should have told you about this friend earlier."

"No." Louis shook his head and hugged Harry tightly, settling on the Dominus' knot. "I trust you and I love  
you."

Harry hummed approvingly and gave Louis' bond mark a kiss. "I must say, I admire your prowess when you're  
jealous."

Louis blushed deeply and hid his face from his Dominus. "Don't say that when jealousy is one of my lesser  
qualities." 

"Nothing about you is lower or lesser than perfect." Harry bites his lip when Louis squeaks at his bum receiving  
an encouraging pat. "Especially this particular feature of yours."  
Giggles light up his mates features and Harry rocks them slightly as he buries his face in Louis' neck. "I love  
you, Harry."

And somehow it felt like the most meaningful words he's ever heard. Harry squeezed his eyes shut the  
confession in, not wanting to let go.

"I love you, my Louis."

* * * * *

It was the constructive comment of one florist that had them currently in a medical professional's office. Louis  
had begged with Harry to bring him after the reminder of her words about their precious pup nagged his  
subconscious.

"Don't be nervous, haud mirum." Harry took Louis' hand and kissed his wrist, lips pressed to his steady pulse.  
Louis quirked his eyebrow at the Dominus. He wasn't nervous at all but his Alpha mate clearly is. To ensure no  
wounds to Harry's dominant ego, Louis pulls the man in between his legs and burrows into his chest. His  
fingers curl around the lapels of Harry's jacket and he breathes deeply.

"Do you think she was right?" Louis asks the question that is actually bothering him still, seeking warmth from  
his Dominus.

Harry rubs Louis' back and relaxes his shoulders. "I think that I am this pup's father and you its mother. If  
something was remotely uncertain, we'd know it."

Louis appreciated the assertion in his Alpha's tone and whined comfortable, nuzzling Harry's neck where he  
settled. "You're right. I love you."

The doctor came in and conducted two types of exams to validate their results considering this was a 'double  
check' routine procedure. Louis was nervous when the monitor of the ultrasound scanner brought up a grey  
image of his womb, and teared up undeniably when they pointed out the actual heir.

"That right there-" She pointed to a fuzzy section with her index. "-is your pup. Just one, loves."

* * * * *

"I love it here." Louis giggled and mutely clapped his hands together under the table when they were seated.  
Harry cooed at his adorable mate after pushing his chair in, giving Louis' forehead a gentle peck and  
witnessing his blush. Their restaurant was dimly lit but the ambiance was beautiful. Each table had a Japanese  
lantern illuminated with a wax candle, the chandeliers above their heads giving off the perfect dose of  
electricity other than light. 

Louis sat in his comfortable cushioned chair amongst some of the finest, wealthiest people of this society. He  
couldn't care less for them however and picked up his leather-bound menu to read the cursive titled food  
choices. Lana del Rey played in the background and Louis discovered that her voice was flawless and  
stimulating to a degree of feelings that was a once in a century experience.

"Thank you for bringing me here, my love." Louis smiles appreciatively across the inextended surface area of  
their table, a golden thread for a cloth draped over it.

"Only the best for you, haud mirum." Harry held Louis' hand across the table, their fingers laced and his lips  
briefly meeting the boy's knuckles.

"I have but one complaint." Louis held up a single, thin and pale finger.

Harry, in his charming black Armani suit and bow-tie, was smirking characteristically at his lovely mate. "What  
might that be, my lover?"  
Louis set the menu down and gestured to the gold script, lowering his voice greatly to be a whisper. "I can't  
read any of this."

The Dominus laughed without reservation, influencing the heat in Louis' cheeks to rise faster. He unbuttons  
the front of his suit jacket and settles forward in his chair, molten green piercing through sapphire blue over  
one tiny lantern flame.

"I will help you all that I can." Harry then takes Louis' menu away and places it under his, cracking the edge  
open on the wine list first.

"My love." The Dominus looks up and his precious Louis is pouting, so powerfully that he can't deny him  
anything. "I can't have alcohol."

"Oh yes." Harry pretends like his unborn pup and his mate pregnant with that five month developing foetus,  
hasn't been the only track of focus his mind has upheld for all that time. "Starters then?"

A tray of freshly toasted garlic bread rolls lay between them and Louis used the displayed saucer in front of  
him along with the little cubes of butter on a porcelain dish to feed himself. Harry recites a few soup and salad  
options that are heavily Italian based but he hardly thinks over anything before choosing a simple tomato  
soup.

"Would you like to order the main course now?" Harry asks him, not just yet calling their waiter.  
"Yes please." Louis crosses his legs under the table and nibbles on his warm bread, his free hand framing the  
side of his baby bump. "I don't want to be interrupted later."

Harry raised an eyebrow at his mate without question and sorted through the selections of chicken, beef and  
vegetable choices his mate might fancy. Louis listens to everything, smiling as his Dominus races through  
fluent Italian in an accent that makes the language desirable.  
"What's the first one have in it?" Louis asks, swallowing his second bite of buttered bread. "I really want  
something with creamy chicken."

His Dominus takes care of making a decision for him because Louis informed him t  
hat he's not in the mood to  
be final in choices. Their dessert will be a slice of chocolate mousse cake and Louis shamefully looks forward  
to it more than the actual food. 

"When did you say we have to be at the art gallery?" Louis asks with his head down, dusting some of the  
crumbs off him as glasses clink and cutlery scrapes plates around them.

"An hour and a half. Haud mirum-" Harry looks at his watch though he doesn't need to, taking Louis' hand in  
his to look into those bright blue eyes. "-I don't want you to be insecure about meeting my friend. I love you. I  
am yours in ways that nobody in this world can replicate elsewhere."

Louis, feeling comforted deep down where doubt was bound to flourish, smiles a bit easier and flexes his  
fingers between Harry's. "I know, my love. I love you. Thank you for not....thinking of me as behaving  
absurdly."

"My lover, I could never." Harry tells him strictly, reaching up to pick some of the neglected crumbs from the  
corner of Louis' mouth. "You must tell me if anything frightens or upsets you. It is my duty to take care of  
you."

Biting his lip, Louis squeezes Harry's fingers and brings his Dominus' hand with his closer. All of two rings,  
one sterling silver with intricate carvings and the other made of gold and a giant black gem. Louis pressed his  
lips to the back of Harry's palm and sets his elbows on the table.

"I never asked where you got these rings." Louis fidgeted with the jewellery on his Dominus' fingers, uselessly  
picking at the tough skin around Harry's fingernails. "Where did you get them?"  
Harry chuckles as he watches Louis inspect the rings on his fingers that told stories of their own. "I earned the  
silver one at my graduation and the gold one was from my brother."

Louis had his head bowed but his eyes flickered to peer up at his Alpha mate. "You never talk about your  
brother very much but you seemed to have been fond of him once."

With a sigh that's not entirely frustration, Harry let's Louis strip him of his silver ring to slip it on his own  
slender finger. "My brother and I were close. We aren't anymore."

"You said he chose to be a um-....Master." Louis whispered the last word before peeking at his mate again.  
"Have you ever wondered what it would be like?"

"Yes." Harry makes room on their table when Louis' soup and his salad comes forward, picking up his fork to  
stab a cherry tomato with the prongs. "However, that was long before I knew you."  
Louis hums as he considers this and stews over the thought, the delectable taste of something as something  
as soup rolling down his throat. He causes no harm to the newly acquired ring he has on when he stirs the  
contents of the bowl.

"Do you anyone who has chosen to be a Master too?" Louis has the perfect opportunity now to flood his  
Dominus with these questions. "What's it like?"

Harry has an arm resting on the table, a permanent smug smile on his features from how endeared he is by his  
mate. "I don't want to scare you,haud mirum."

Louis gasps softly as the landing of a feather and pouts. "I think I can handle it, my love. Please?"  
"Alright." Harry didn't look one bit as uncomfortable as he ought to have been, chewing around his food with a  
closed mouth. "A Master never greets anyone, even his mate." 

Amidst his focus on his food, Louis quirks an eyebrow. "You don't greet me either, with words at least."  
Harry's chuckle carries over the flame between them and the spark within them, leaning effortlessly closer to  
his mate for a kiss. "A Master is not allowed to sleep with his mate when the mate has done something  
disobedient."

Louis' spoon full of creamy soup pauses on its path to his mouth. He stares at Harry, a little sympathetic for all  
the mates that had to deal with overly strict Alpha mates.

"Who decides whether they're being disobedient?" Louis enquires softly, nervous to hear the answer.  
"Their Masters." Harry responds solemnly, then becomes more resolved in addressing the concern of his mate.  
"I would never do that to you, haud mirum. You are my mate, my equal."

Louis can smile at that, relaxed and at ease knowing his Dominus can see reason in being more modern in a  
respect. Harry was traditional but he was a down-to-earth humble man too.  
"Thank you." Heat rises to Louis' cheeks under the attention from his Dominus, his smile unsmotherable. "I  
love you."

He leans closer when Harry does to quickly connect their lips, pulling away before it becomes socially  
unacceptable. Louis feels as if he's asked enough about such a touch topic to swallow and returns to his food,  
abandoning the bread rolls. Harry helps him finish his chicken dish that follows because dessert is something  
he and the pup he carries looks forward to.

"Are you sure you won't get hungry later, my lover?" Harry asks after he's had his sirloin steak and Louis is  
picking baby carrots off his plate.

Others have glanced their way but in lieu of their ways being much more subtle than where they're from, no  
one really bothers to judge why a Dominus let's their mate eat so haphazardly from him. Louis' school and  
Harry's training bred them to rely on primal instincts while modernised society allowed those instincts to sink  
back.

"I'm not sure about that." Louis only allows Harry to have the sauce and mushrooms from his pasta, keeping all  
the chicken cubes and strips for himself. "Baby might get hungry later."

Harry hums and finishes what his mate cannot, smiling to himself when their plates are taken away and Louis  
continues to pick apart his roll of freshly baked bread. His Dominus is gracious enough to allow him to have  
the bigger portion of the cake that soon come to them, scraping the cream off the top when Louis frowns at it.  
They skip catching a cab like Louis suggests after paying the bill and Harry drives them under the moon into  
the more elite part of town. Studio apartments are above their heads and up-market stores were surrounding  
them, each one with their own sparkle of expense.

The night was nowhere near as dark as it got in their cabin, with no streetlights and just the moon itself to  
brighten the sky. Louis looks up at the light bulbs amidst the stars and knows that it's something he's going to  
have to get used to.

Even at night the occupants of this district were alive and blissful, getting out and accompanying one another  
to adrenaline-induced parties. Nobody slept in the city, nobody considered the next person.


	15. chapter fifteen

Louis followed Harry into the elite, prized art gallery that seemed to have caught everyone's attention for the  
evening. Music flowed out of the medium-sized building with panoramic glass doors that became the wall. It  
was easily to make out a decent crowd within the property and all their champagne flutes.

"Ready?" Harry reaches over the center console to take Louis' smaller hand in his grasp and squeeze it  
reassuringly.

"Sure." Louis returns his Dominus' kiss with one of his own. It's charming how they take up so little space for  
so much affection.

Harry takes a chance to kiss under Louis' ear and nibble on skin. He chuckles when his act of teasing gets  
Louis to giggle and move away as much as possible.

"Let's go." Louis felt the dampness on his skin from Harry's mild attack. "I don't want you to actually eat me."

Triumphant and adoring laughter follows Louis when he tries to open his door but fails. His Dominus has to  
get off first and walk around the front with a wink directed his way somewhere before the monogram on the  
bonnet. He blushes and looks down at his lap from the tilt of Harry's smirk meant all for him.

"Your shoes, haud mirum." Harry clicks his tongue, amused, when he realised his mate is without footwear.

"Oh." Louis looks down at his socks on the SUV's carpet as if just recalling he'd popped off his Vans earlier.

Harry stopped Louis from completing the task resheathing those discarded shoes on his own feet and aided  
the boy instead to turn around in his seat. "Allow me."

There, parked on the side of the street amongst other expensive vehicles and in the midst of people waltzing  
about on the sidewalk, Harry got down on one knee. He didn't care for dirtying his pants or scratching his  
spotless shoes, just that he had the honour to do this. The Dominus took Louis' shoes and slid them on his  
feet one at a time, a kiss for both place right on his ankle.

"You didn't have to do that." Louis pulled Harry back up by both his ears and their very much in love attitudes  
met in a sweet kiss under the stars.

Harry was undeterred by this comment and stood to his feet, picking Louis up by hugging him around his  
thighs. "Yes I did."

Louis had to look down at his mate with a grin that's brighter than any moon, using Harry's shoulders to  
support himself. "I love you, you know."

His Dominus engages in one more kiss before they're interrupted by the click of high heels on tar and a  
sarcastic applause. The voice that follows is smooth and pleasantly feminine. "If there were only one  
gentleman left in this damned world it would be you, Harry Styles."

Harry reacts slowly because he's got his very pregnant mate in his arms that he lowers to the ground first.  
Louis thinks he'll throw himself into a reunion but is reminded that Harry's as authentic a Dominus as there  
ever will be when the man encircles his waist protectively. His Alpha mate turns to greet this stranger female  
still with a genuine smile of recognition and joy. 

Louis doesn't know her name but that's not necessary because she's beautiful enough to not be forgotten. Her  
slender figure is wrapped up in a tight formal black dress that has a bold silver zip running down the front.  
Brunette hair is tightly bound at the back of her head, high as Hell black heels at the ends of her perfect legs.

She got closer and Louis saw that her eyes were chocolate brown and warm, but every vibe she gave off was  
platonic. "It's wonderful to see you again, H."

"Likewise." Harry gave her a sufficiently timed hug but Louis felt no threat from this woman so he was okay  
with their interaction. "Louis, this is Cassandra. Sandy, this is my mate Louis."

Those new eyes fell on him and Louis was abruptly being hugged very comfortingly, her fragrance of roses  
wafting through his senses. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Louis."

"The pleasure is mine." Louis smiles politely and reciprocates the embrace before they pull away.  
Thankfully for Louis' lack of other words to say, there is no awkward silence to follow. Cassandra simply  
disengages him from Harry to loop her arm through his instead. It's not forward behaviour and his Dominus  
doesn't seem to be alarmed, but Louis still nervously chews his lip.

"I'm stealing your mate, H." She declares, guiding Louis away from their vehicle up onto the sidewalk. "Come in  
and join us!"

Harry is left to lock up their SUV and hasten after them for the sake of ensuring Louis wasn't in any risky  
situations. His mate seemed perfectly fine and at ease with Cassandra's excitable ways, as observed from  
outside while they were just indoors. Harry tucks his phone and keys away in his pocket before entering the  
air-conditioned environment scented with canvas paper and potpourri.

Cassandra offers Louis a glass of champagne that he declines, making her sceptical. "Hate alcohol?"  
"Yes but-" He feels proud when she laughs. "-I actually can't drink alcohol."

"Oh." She processes what he implies by that shortly after her first sip. "Oh. Congratulations!"  
Louis is roped into another one of her hugs and he gets to see Harry watching them over her shoulder, his  
Dominus sipping from a glass of something amber. "Thank you."

"I always knew Harry wanted to be a father as early as possible." Cassandra walks him through throws of  
people and smaller circles, her art work getting little notice by herself. "How far along are you?"

"Um- Five months." He answers proudly, placing a hand over his baby bump that's shielded with cloth.  
"That's wonderful." She takes him to the set-up of their catering company after he never suspected that she  
had this intention. "Can I have a bottle of water and one of those cinnamon rolls you showed me earlier?"  
Louis hadn't heard her request from the chef and his waiters because he's constantly scanning the room for  
Harry. His senses were heightened because of him carrying such a strong pup, and for that reason he could  
make out traces of Harry's scent in the air. It was like his Dominus was soothing him without being there.  
"Oh." He's a little lost for words when Cassandra hands him a small plate with a warm sugary treat and bottle  
of chilled Avian. "Thank you." 

"Don't mention it." She dismisses his gratitude. Louis thinks he could really befriend this woman, who  
surpassed the usually dishonest facade and turned out to be actually genuine. "So tell me more about my old  
friend."

"Harry?" Louis appreciates that she walks at his pace and they stop in front an oil painting of someone nude  
yet melded with the bright colour choice of red and yellow. "I feel like I should be asking you this question  
instead."

"Okay, fair enough." Cassandra cracks her knuckles and waves at someone a distance from them. She turns  
back to Louis with her hands folded together and lips pursed. "Does he still choose to consume those peanut  
sweets by the dozen?"

Louis remembers every single shopping trip of theirs and smiles a little. "Yeah he does."  
"And-" Cassandra stands with one shoe crossed over the other, making it a miracle that she doesn't fall over.  
"-what about his snoring?"

"He still-" Louis stops himself when he realises what she's basing her question on. How would she know about  
his snoring?

"Oh gosh I'm sorry." Cassandra drops her face into her hands. "I know what that must sound like. We  
never.....- We were never more than friends."

Louis feels better, lighter in his chest hearing this from her. He doesn't like the path this conversation has  
taken but Cassandra seems to be trying very hard and he won't ever disregard that. "I wasn't- Okay, I was  
thinking that. Thank you for the clarification."

Cassandra screws her mouth up in an apologetic smile. "His family and mine were very close. They used to  
have these big dinners and both families ended up staying in either home."  
At that moment when Louis is about to ask that very question, Harry makes an appearance. The Dominus  
touches his shoulder then his arm slides around his back to settle on his hip. It's automatic that Louis leans  
into his side and is relaxed by his Dominus' kiss to his temple.

"Excuse me." Harry cleared his throat and nodded in the direction of someone approaching their meeting.  
Cassandra was easily distracted by the handsome young man in a tuxedo and effortlessly styled hair. She  
noticed Harry guiding Louis away from the paintings. "Stick around, okay?"

She got a brief wave from Harry and departing smile from Louis although the latter was confused about why  
he was being ushered away. Harry had his hand on the small of Louis' back, helping him wade through the  
people and unknown faces. They only stop to breathe after they're back outside directly under the moon and  
stars, Harry placing his hands on Louis' hips to turn him around.

"What's wrong?" Louis asks the man that's smiling goofily and resting their foreheads together. "Harry?"  
His Dominus took to tightening the hold on his hips, raising it to waist and caging him in before dipping to  
connect their lips. Louis couldn't deny him at that and kisses Harry back with as much fervour as the man  
offered to him.

"We're not staying here." Harry announced in the tiny space between their lips when he pulled away, sliding his  
hand down to take Louis'. 

"What?" Louis was thoroughly thrown overboard here. He was gently tugged along the sidewalk and the  
people, drunk or otherwise, with no guidance. "My love, where are we going?"

"I can always read you, haud mirum." Harry urged Louis ahead of himself and squeezed his sides, growling  
playfully into the boy's neck. "I can tell you didn't want to be there."

"Harry." Louis pouted and insisted they halt for a bit, looking up into those predatorial green eyes under the  
dim illumination of a flickering streetlight. "This isn't about me."  
Harry smiles to comfort him, a dimple deepening on one side from his smirk that follows. "If so then my pup  
didn't want to be in there so I'm taking you both elsewhere."

They start walking again, slower this time now that they're out of the gallery's vicinity, and Louis is ahead of  
Harry where the Dominus can protect him. Harry tugs him to a pause when they're in front of a tiny Indian  
take-away that suits his liking.

Louis still hangs off Harry's arm with both his hands clinging to it, endeared by this small establishment's  
warmth and atmosphere. The take-away joint was less than busy inside, an orange light cast down on a dozen  
or so tables. He leaned in to whimper tiredly and nuzzle Harry's shoulder.  
"What are we doing here, my love?" He asks softly, clutched possessively around his middle by both Harry's  
arms.

"I don't have an answer other than spontaneity." Harry pats Louis' hip and let's his mate skip ahead of him into  
the building.

They do the uncoordinated and unprecidated task of grabbing a menu from the counter and sitting together at  
a small wooden table with floral table mats. Instead of separate meals and considering they're being  
unpredictable, they share an order of the largest sub sandwich the restaurant makes.

"Be honest with me, my love." Louis knots their fingers into one unit on the table and looks Harry in the eye.  
"Why did we leave?"  
Harry may have been unconventionally dopey before but he sobers majorly now, sighing as he sits back and  
unbuttons his suit jacket. "I realised it was a mistake going there."

"How so?" Louis rests his chin on his laced fingers, crossing his ankles under the table.  
"Cassandra is part of my past, a part I'd rather not revisit." Harry clears his throat as their food arrives and his  
eyes grow questionably wide.

Louis giggles behind his hand, head tossed back as that laughter escalates into audible amusement. Their  
food was huge and enough to feed an entire town. Nonetheless, Louis picked out pieces of chicken, cheese  
and egg with his fork to nibble on.  
"It's not a.....part where you two were-"

"No." Harry cuts his rambling off with a disguised frown and upward curl to his lip that was hateful. "Despite  
the freedom that Dominus' are given at home, you are the only one I ever made love to."

* * * * *

Louis and Harry got back to their hotel room at an hour before midnight. The former went to set the pot on  
boil for his decaffeinated tea and Harry stripped for a shower. Louis was yawning as he watched the kettle  
light blinking at him, and dragged his feet to the shower after his Dominus.

"Isn't this a pleasant surprise." Harry welcomed Louis into his shower, wrapping his mate up in his arms and  
sharing the water's spray with him.

"I'm tired." Louis complained futilely. He closed his eyes while resting his weight on Harry.  
"I know, haud mirum." Harry kissed his forehead and both eyelids before taking a sponge to wash his precious  
better half from head to toe. "I'll take care of you for the rest of the night."

Harry stuck true to his word and while Louis was lazy about it, he scrubbed the boy clean and carried him  
bridal style out of the bathroom. Louis was dressed in an old T-shirt with a hole in the shoulder and shorts  
that left enough skin on display for the Dominus. His dutiful Alpha mate made him his tea and tucked him in  
with sheets and all the pillows.

"Better?" Harry crawled up to him with a smile causing the corners of his lips to twitch. He kissed his mate's  
hot, bitter lips and laid himself down between Louis' thighs.

"Let's go home tomorrow." Louis says after finishing his tea and settles down to comb through Harry's lengthy  
curls.

The Dominus grunts consentually into his belly, holding onto both sides with his eyes closed and scent  
relaxing the pup growing in him. "I miss home as well, haud mirum."

* * * * *

They're all packed up and ready to bid adieu to the city until they absolutely must revisit it again. Things start  
to go wrong at that moment.  
When Louis first wakes up on his own at two in the morning to sever stomach cramps and nausea he though it  
was food poisoning. Before he could make it out of bed and wake Harry up, the ill sensation was gone and he  
could sleep again.

He woke up again when the sun was just coming up, gagging on the foulest taste in his mouth. Helplessly, he  
could only grab the bin in time to upheave everything he'd eaten in the last twenty four hours. Louis held onto  
his middle where it felt like someone had screwed an iron belt to tighten around him.

Harry helped him by laying on the floor without his prosthetic and listening when Louis said he didn't want to  
get back into bed. They slept together on the floor with one pillow and a comforter.

All was well for a long time after that. Louis slept in late and Harry let him, guarding his slightly overheated  
mate by never leaving his side. The Dominus wiped him down with cool flannels and cloth multiple times but  
Louis was burning up. His mate whimpered and squirmed in his sleep, always clutching the sides of his baby  
bump.

"Is that you, vegrandis mirum?" Harry asked Louis' belly with his lips pressed to it. He wondered if the baby  
was causing all Louis' symptoms. 

His unborn pup could not answer him but Harry hoped he lulled the over-active foetus to sleep. That hope was  
flung out the window when Louis shot up, screaming bloody murder with tears streaking his face and  
expression oh so pained. Louis was exhausted and it was easy to tell with the darkness framing his eyes and  
the cold shudders he experienced.

"What hurts, my lover?" Harry pulled Louis onto his lap on the floor, listening to Louis' deep breaths and  
rubbing the baby bump gently. "Talk to me, haud mirum."

"My baby!" Louis shrieked, craning his neck backward as he tried not to succumb to the excruciating pain that  
was tearing him open. "M-Make it stop, I can't-"

The hurt was too much, the pain too unrelenting. It felt like someone lit a fire inside him and let it run  
rampant on all his organs. There was a blade in his womb prodding constantly from the inside out and Louis  
felt the stretch, the crack in his ribs from such anguish. Everything turned black as he passed out from shock.  
Harry had already dialled the ambulance because something was soaking into his boxers from Louis. He feared  
the worst at the smell of blood and cupped Louis' baby bump, growling helplessly into the unconscious boy's  
neck. He felt a nudge under his palm and upon looking, lost all reason not to howl when he saw a protrusion  
in Louis' bump caused by the strain of his pup reaching outward.

* * * * *

Louis' been in the hospital in a private room for an hour now. He woke up exhausted and malnourished but  
not in the mood to eat anything so the nurse had to provide him with a glucose IV drip. Harry sat in a chair  
next to him, his inner Alpha shaken up with recent events.

His mate was most concerned about their pup, ignorant of everything besides their little family. It struck him  
like thunder that something might have gone awry.  
"I can feel it." Louis was rubbing over his bump that appeared to the naked eye as if it had grown in just an  
hour. "Something is wrong."

Harry lifted his head from where he's got Louis' pulse pressed to his cheek. "Haud mirum, nothing is wrong."  
Louis was trying already to not be pessimistic. His bleeding had stopped but the pain in his mid section was  
just as powerful. "I hope so, my love."

A doctor joined them soon and she was young but very welcoming. Her name was Patty and she pulled a few  
giggles from Louis actually asking him to shift his hospital gown so they can do a scan Patty warned him that  
the gel would be cold and Harry stood up violently enough to knock his chair over.

"Alright." She pressed the wand down somewhere low on his bump and it was beginning to hurt.  
"You're hurting him." Harry growled, ignoring the squeeze he got from Louis' fingers between his.  
"I can't help it, Dominus. See this?" She pointed first to large grey area and then a distinct white blob. Faint  
human features were noticeable. "That's your pup right there." 

Louis was fawning over the beauty inside him that was taking energy from him and growing into a healthy  
baby. Harry was far more aware of the confusion on their doctor's face. He all but shook with rage at this point  
and could not take another second of naivety.

"What happened?" Louis asked when the image on the screen flickered, trying to sit up but encouraged back  
down by his Dominus.

"I saw that." Patty was biting her lip and she took out something electronic from her pocket to page another  
doctor. "This is......new."

Before Harry could demand she elaborate, another medical personnel came through the door. He was elder  
and clearly Dominus himself. Harry greeted him with a stiff nod while Louis shook his hand, slipping back into  
a tired state.

Harry looked at the monitor with the live image of their pup again and he frowned because something about  
the white section had changed.  
Patty briefed the new doctor with an old frame depicting the original ultrasound. Everything was hushed and  
Louis exploded. "God damn it This is happening inside me and this is my baby, tell me what's happening!"  
Harry gave him a kiss on his mating mark for being so bold when it came it something so important. Patty had  
stepped down from her duty here and let the other doctor take over.

"I apologise." He smiled kindly but shallowly. "I'm doctor Cornwell and my expertise lies solely in special cases  
like yours."

Louis looked at Patty's colleague flabbergasted. "My pup is a special case?"  
"Yes." Cornwell moved the ultrasound machine at an angle to make the image more visible. He pointed to an  
even more specific portion of the white foetus. "That is a paw."

Harry heard his heart beating and then suddenly stop. His mate was confused. "A paw?"  
"Yes." Cornwell was patient despite his Dominus status and gender role. "Your Dominus is a wolf?"  
"I am." Harry answered, his arms crossed over his chest and Louis' hand still caught in the tangle.  
"I have some questions for you." Cornwell flipped two pages on the metallic clipboard. "Is your bloodline a  
pure one?"

"Yes."  
"Name of that bloodline?" Cornwell scribbled speedily.  
"Styles."

"How far back in the family tree can you go back before the first sign of doubt?"  
Harry had to think about this one, albeit it didn't take him long. "Little over two hundred years."  
Cornwell looked up from his clipboard to Harry's face. "That's old enough then." 

"Old enough for what?" Louis questioned impatiently. He'd be tapping his foot and pacing if it weren't for  
obvious restrictions.

Dr. Cornwell capped his pen and tucked the clipboard under his arm. He handed Louis a sonogram printed  
before the flicker on the monitor. "Can you see the difference?"

"Vaguely." Louis answers him honestly, looking between the screen and his photograph.

"What your pup is attempting to do is something that hasn't been done in over a hundred years." Dr. Cornwell  
made sure to look at Harry when he said the time. "A hundred years ago birthing in wolf forms was forbidden,  
because a few years prior to that that process was killing every mother that tried."

Louis gasps at the gory news. He glanced at the bump he was sporting and wanted more than anything to  
keep his baby safe.

"Your baby is trying to switch forms in your womb." Dr. Cornwell stated it bluntly to make it clear. "It's the  
reason for your expanded bump and recently the pain you've been experiencing."

"What do we do about this?" Harry asks, running a hand through his hair and tugging angrily on the curls.  
"I want Louis to stay in this hospital for the remainder of his pregnancy." He says, pulling out a small writing  
pad and clicking his pen to jot something down. "This behaviour on the part of the foetus is unpredictable.  
Here, I can discourage that development without stunting his growth."

Louis is on board for anything that will keep his pup alive and allow him an opportunity to see his baby.  
"What....How did this happen after a hundred years?"

Dr. Cornwell asks Patty to take his note for him to someone before turning back to them. "Your Dominus'  
genes are from a pure bloodline, the strongest genes to have. The possibility of skipping a generation is very  
high so instead of a mate then experiencing this, it chose to resurface now. Don't worry, Louis. I'll make sure  
you and your pup come out of this just fine."

"Have you handled someone else's case like this?" The boy asked, half hidden in his Alpha mate's chest while  
Harry wiped his belly clean.

Dr. Cornwell didn't answer beyond a short smile and stepping out into the hall.


	16. chapter sixteen

Louis has been handling all of his ten days in the hospital under medically professional supervision excellently.  
Harry made enquiries to have him transferred into a private wing where there would be minimal hindrances.  
The Dominus was exceedingly proud of his darling mate, who took every test in his stride and smiled every  
day.

Louis had experienced extreme highs and lows because of the hormones flooding his system. He sobbed  
whenever he thought about everything that could go wrong and burst into ecstasy when his Dominus  
reminded him that he was far from alone in this mating.

The Dominus spent every night in the hopsital with Louis. The chief of surgery had warned him about breaking  
hospital policy but Harry was under too much pressure to oblige. He had bags brought in from the hotel or  
newly purchased for Louis to change or himself.

However, Harry's least favourite day has to be today.

Louis has been throwing up everything he ate which forced his doctor to enable a glucose drip into his IV. He  
was grouchy and tired which did nothing good for uplifting his mood on the day that his family was supposed  
to visit.

As a mated couple meant to establish their own footing in the world, Louis begging Harry to bring his family  
to him was forbidden. He was not allowed under any certain circumstances to see them again because their  
generally warped societal view dictated that such an act displayed fervent disloyalty to his Dominus.

Nonetheless, Harry made the call and Louis' family will be spending a whole hour with him. He would do  
anything to make his emotional, unstable mate happier again.

"Are you awake, haud mirum?" Harry's knuckles caressed Louis' delicate cheekbone and rubbed his side  
soothingly.

Their current position on the hospital bed had to look uncomfortable to any outsider. Harry abandoned his  
prosthetic in favour of climbing in under his mate, dragging Louis onto his chest and between his legs. Louis  
was safest there, protected by Harry's arms and relaxed by the steady beat of his heart.

Louis mumbled something incoherent into the man's collarbone.

His hair was messy and he complained every hour that his breath was awful because of not showering in two  
days under doctor's orders. He fell asleep under Harry's chin for thirty minutes at a time before something  
nauseating rocketed through his frail body and he awoke for a round of misery.

"My lover." Harry tilted Louis' head back by his chin, smiling at the familiar shade of oceanic blue unveiled by  
heavy eyelids. He pecks Louis' nose. "Don't sleep if you can't."

Louis hid himself again in the shape of a tiny ball on Harry's chest and minded his IV that was inserted in his  
arm. He couldn't help the tears that rolled down his cheeks onto Harry's shirt. "But I'm so tired."

"Shh." Harry acted quickly to comfort his crying mate, massaging the especially annoying muscle at the base of  
Louis' spine. "Hush, my love. Don't cry."

"But I'm hungry." Louis stretched himself out again, sniffling as he buried his face in Harry's neck.

His Dominus held onto his forearm until after Louis stopped shifting, saving the IV needle from destruction.  
He let that arm wrap around his neck too afterwards while Louis kept his graceful baby bump protected  
between them.

"Oh love." Harry chuckled at Louis' antics, drawing the covers up to ensure that the boy was properly insulated.  
"Solid food isn't an option right now."

Louis sighed shakily and nibbled mindlessly on Harry's clavicle. "They're putting sugar in my veins."

"In a way, yes." Harry closed his eyes and kissed Louis' bond mark, a proud herald of his beholding Harry's  
teethmarks and all their courtship content in one deep bite. "How does my pup feel?"   
"A little restless." Louis turned into a specimen of doe-eyed fondness when he spoke about their baby, frown  
easing up and muscles relaxing. "A lothungry."

"Baby." Harry growled but it wasn't all playful or serious, a tinge of horrid sadness lacing the sound. His mate  
asking for something he cannot provide broke his heart.  
Louis knew how to uplift Harry when he felt low and looked his Dominus in the eye, small smile on his pink  
lips and light mirth in his almost grey eyes. He takes the man's hand and kisses Harry's lips. As he talks, their  
fingers become more and more entangled.

"Your pup says he loves you." Louis whispers against Harry's plump, suspiciously bitter lips. "And he knows his  
Daddy is just doing what will keep him healthy."

Harry stares at his perfect pregnant mate for a minute after the boy says this to him. He frames Louis' face and  
suddenly slots their lips together, moving them together and creasing his brow in concentration. Louis is so  
precious, so gentle. He deserved nothing but total, utter dedication from his Dominus.

Being reminded of the session when their doctor conducted four extensive examinations to ascertain the  
gender of their pup was also enough to make knots tighten in his abdomen. A male as an heir made every  
Dominus proud, the same way a little princess would. Harry was just ecstatic to have his first-born so soon.  
"My beautiful, beautiful mate." Harry kisses Louis' cheeks and forehead. "What did I do to deserve you?"  
"Well-" Louis went for sassy instead of sentimental and cuddled up to Harry again. "-you kidnapped me."  
Harry pinched his hip and sneakily wedged his arm around Louis, palm flat over the boy's belly. "As your  
captor then, I believe I've done a decent job of taking care of you."

Louis giggles and it's the first time in over twenty hours that Harry's heard that wonderful sound. "Was that a  
dirty joke, Mr. Styles?"

It wasn't his nature to gasp or be surprised. Harry merely smirked so prominently that his dimples deepened  
and he made Louis blush intensely.

"How rude of you, my love." Louis swats Harry's pectoral but it feels like hardly a swipe for the man. "You are  
forbidden from having such a naughty sense of humour with the baby."  
"I hardly knew I had this sense of humour to begin with, haud mirum." Harry muses while he insists that Louis  
become the smallest form he can whilst cradled against him.

Louis reaches up to nuzzle the side of Harry's neck and whine when the Alpha's chest rumbled possessively.  
He enjoyed Harry's short but effective moments of utter dominance where he lived up to his intimidating  
status. Those were usually the times Harry crawled over him and protected him physically from any harm,  
despite the lack of any.

"We haven't-" Louis let's his eyes slip shut and mindlessly picks at the sewn fabric of Harry's shirt. "-talked  
about the baby."  
Harry makes a surprised noise in his throat that came from his wolf. "I disagree, my lover. Our baby is all we've  
talked about."

"I mean names." Louis clarifies with a giggle. "Your son has to have a name just as beautiful as he."   
Harry won't admit to the helpless grumble his wolf made at the reminder of his pup growing, developing. He  
presses his lips to Louis' forehead. "Have you thought of any names as yet?"

"A few." Louis replies, not half as harmless or innocent as he wants to come across. "What about you?"  
"I do have something to contribute." Harry offers quietly, withdrawing into doubt. "Just one request, haud  
mirum."

"Don't tell me yet." Louis pushes himself into sitting upright and his eyes twinkle with mischief. "Doctor said I  
could get in the tub today. Join me and we'll talk about it there."  
Harry pretends to groan but his persistent kneading of Louis soft hips say otherwise. "Well, I might have  
turned the most innocent creature I'd ever seen into a certain minx."

Louis gasps and hides his face behind his hands, laughing to himself as his cheeks heat up inexplicably.  
Despite that, Harry gets into the bath with Louis because his mate and pup asked that of him. The doctor  
advised that Louis mix rough salt into the bath water and Harry took care of that before they got in, now  
feeling the unkind grains rubbing against his thigh.

His lovely mate sat atop his lap, more lounging like a contended feline. Shorter but tender, shaven legs folded  
over Harry's lap while Louis' head rested gently on his hunched shoulder. Smaller hands linked to daintier  
wrists were holding onto Harry's pectorals or fingers tightly.

"Tell me now." Louis whispers into the tranquility of their personal bubble, much too lost in the feeling of  
being squeaky clean.

Harry lathered up a coarse sponge and dragged it over Louis' arm, letting the white soap suds roll down into  
the water. He cleared his throat. "My grandfather's name was Rayleigh. He meant a great deal to me."  
Louis hummed after Harry's little speech. "Would you like me to let you name our son Rayleigh?"

"Not entirely, no." Harry chuckled and worked smoothly over Louis' hip with the sponge. "Possibly just his  
middle name?"

"Rayleigh." Louis pronounced the word without exaggeration, shuffling his way for securely onto Harry's lap so  
his back fitted against the man's chest. "I'm okay with Rayleigh being his middle name."  
"Thank you." Harry grinned but it was smothered by the numerous kisses he peppered along Louis' honeyed  
neck. "You have the honour of picking our pup's first name."

"We're a team, you know." Louis observes how Harry takes extra long rubbing over his taut belly. "We'll make a  
shortlist."

"Alright." Harry consents, thumbing around Louis' slightly protruding belly button and flattening his palm over  
the bump.

"Daniel?" Louis frames his pregnant front with both hands.

"No." Harry presses his lips against Louis' temple, dropping the sponge and covering Louis' hands with his.  
"Sebastian?"

"No." Louis pouts. "That's a cat name." 

"My apologies then." Harry chuckles and tries again. "Frederick."  
"Freddie." Louis drags the syllables with a roll of his tongue. "I like it. James?"  
"Too common for me, haud mirum." Harry protests.

Louis bends his knees so they peek out barely above the water and leans back against his Dominus. "Eli or  
Elijah."

"No to the first, maybe to the second." Harry's arms surface from the water and he rests them on either side of  
the tub, offering a throne of himself for his mate.

"Aryan." Louis offers animatedly, still holding on to his very pregnant bump reverently and thinking about how  
long he's been waiting to pounce with that suggestion.

Harry pauses for a moment. The name is perfect for their little lion, something proud and bold. "I like Aryan  
far more than Elijah or Freddie."

"Me too." Louis blushes, bursting into giggles when Harry seizes an opportunity to grasp him around the waist  
and have the Dominus' face buried in his neck.

"I love the name, haud mirum." Harry's raspy breaths tickle Louis' skin. "Aryan Rayleigh."  
"Aryan Rayleigh Styles." Louis corrected, fingers forced into lacing themselves between Harry's and squeaking  
when his Dominus bit his bond mark. "H-Harry, what are you doing?"

Harry's tongue ran over the prominent scar and he pulled off his mate with a smirk. "Nothing, haud mirum."  
Louis raised a skeptical brow and refrained from squirming in Harry's lap when he began to feel restless. "Will  
we have to get married when we move to the city?"

Harry was only partially shocked by the question, until he deciphered why his mate was asking. Their courtship  
and bond followed old tradition in which mating rituals took presidence over innovations by modern society.  
A Dominus finds a mate, proves themself to their mate and they bond. The mate lost their family name to  
bond with a Dominus. In modern times, they have come to understand that marriage takes precidence over  
mating rituals. Bonded couples will either marry in common law or live quietly without officiating anything.  
"No, haud mirum." Harry clears his throat and murmurs his response into Louis' throat. "You have my mark  
and I have you. There is no need for anything else."

"Oh." Louis hummed, appeased as he was. He disagreed with the concept of marriage that was reversible and  
taken by people today in despicable lightheartedness.

A mating was far stronger, the way things were meant to be. Wolves mated as Alpha and Omega and when  
hybrids developed, the Alpha and his mate. That custom stayed with traditional communities to present day  
and moving to the city would be a breath of air that's too fresh.

"Would you like to be married?" Harry asks when his mate is a little lost in thought. "I could put a ring on your  
finger, make you wear all white for me."

Louis giggled and wrapped his whole hand around Harry's boney middle finger. "Nah uh."   
"You could look so precious, haud mirum." Harry tried playfully to convince Louis though he himself wasn't  
willing to stomach the attributes of marriage. "I love you so much, my lover, that sometimes I fear you never  
really belonged to me."

"Oh no, my love." Louis unfolds one of Harry's fists and places it over his belly. "Is this not enough to make  
you believe?"

"I believe now." Harry chuckles and his eyes soften to pure adoration when he traces the contours of Louis'  
bump. "I put this pup in you."

"Harry." Louis groans and swats his Dominus' arm. "Don't say it like that."

Harry rests his chin on Louis' shoulder and studies one of the faint bruises on his mate's belly. Their pup  
would kick relentlessly and often those sessions ended in harm being done to Louis. It has since become  
uneven yellow or dull blue to heal quicker.

"My sincerest apologies, haud mirum." Harry said it to please his blushing mate but the smirk donned by his  
facial features were unconvincing. "I've arranged for your family to visit today. Are you excited?"  
"Very excited." Louis brightens instantaneously at the mention of his family's visit. "Thank you for arranging it.  
I know it's.....unconventional."

"I'd go against every law of the universe to please you." Harry proclaims with a fond nuzzle to Louis' neck. "I'm  
sorry that they can't be with you for more than an hour."

"An hour is long enough, my love. I swear." The boy sloshes that water around them by pushing himself  
upright. "My grandmother said she'll bring me her famous spaghetti and meatballs."  
"Did she now?" Harry listens to his Louis with an endearing smile, rubbing the boy's delicate sides repeatedly  
with smooth strokes.

There was a little bit of a rumble causing Harry's chest to vibrate the way it does before his wolf growls. The  
sound was alarming to Louis as it partially signalled distress on behalf of his Dominus, and he craned his neck  
to look into those green eyes. Harry met his gaze with a wry smile and wrapped his hand around Louis' neck,  
thumb brushing back and forth over his bond mark.

"What's wrong?" Louis held onto Harry's steel wrist and asked softly. "Are you upset about something?"  
"Nothing of the sort, my lover." Harry tried to lie about it but their bond was much too strong, allowing no  
false truths to travel between them.

Louis wasn't having any of it and he forced Harry's hand off him, turning around on his knees and letting his  
bump rest between them. Harry enjoyed this position very much, too much. He framed his mate's belly with  
both hands and bit his lip while Louis sat back on his calves.

"Tell me. I insist." Louis wrapped his arms stubbornly around Harry's neck, twirling the man's chocolate curls  
around his slender fingers.

Harry sighs but it's far from annoyed and relents easily. A lapful of a beautiful mate he calls his own is hardly  
something he can resist. "A Dominus despises moments when his mate must spend time with others."   
"Ah." Louis' cheeks heat up as he leans forward to press his forehead against Harry's, lips quirked in a little  
smirk. "And you are Dominus."

"Yes." Harry keeps petting Louis' sides from the lost traces of the boy's ribcage down to his perfectly smooth  
hips. "I am Dominus and that hour will be the most painful for me."

"No it won't." Louis argues sweetly, giving his Dominus' nose a quick peck. "You will be with me the whole  
time."

Harry turns his face into Louis' neck and breathes traiterously slow, cooling the water droplets already on his  
mate's skin. "That would be my highest honour at the time."

* * * * *

Louis' family made haste in their trip from his hometown to where he was now, taking a mere two hours of  
travel. He was just being encouraged by his persistent and caring Dominus to not neglect the last of his  
sandwich when a nurse walked in.

"Your family's here." Harry whispers in his ear after giving the nurse a terse nod so she can leave.  
Excitement came bubbling to the surface and Louis leaned forward in his perch between Harry's legs. Their  
immodest position was concealed by the bed's covers and his own quilt draped over them. Louis' legs were  
crossed over Harry's thighs and the Dominus could sit back against the pillows, taking an early opportunity to  
zone out.

His grandmother was the first to bustle into the private room and rush to his side. Nothing about her had  
changed despite ageing a few more months. She still smelled like honey and vinegar when she smothered his  
cheek with kisses and shivered a little with restrained tears.

"Ma." Louis missed his family so much that it was hard for him not to tear up.  
"Oh, moonpie." His grandmother wiped away those stray flows of dampness and kissed his forehead.  
Harry may not have been happy to witness it but he said nothing, deepset eyes watching over other things  
now. He had a grip of steel on Louis' waist, fastening their bodies together because for the next hour he's  
going to be faced with a whirlwind of threats.

Louis' mother embraced her son and kissed both cheeks of his, while the boy's father did hardly anything  
beyond pressing his lips to Louis' forehead. It's what Dominus fathers became when they grew old in too  
traditional societies and Harry observed that now, vowing to never let this tense relationship reach his own  
family.

Three generations of a bloodline fawn over Louis' sonogram photos and congratulate him endlessly. Louis is  
subtle about not letting anyone have the chance to ask to see his bump, mainly because Harry's arms are so  
unwielding and protective around his middle.

"Almost six months is a long time, moonpie." Louis' grandmother says from her seat beside the bed. "Do you  
know the gender yet?"

"A boy." He answers, cheeks dusted with a light pink and all fondness for his baby.   
Louis' fingers first lace themselves into their home with Harry's. That unit remains resting on his taut belly, as  
encouragement he feels Harry lean forward so their bodies rest in a back-to-chest connection. His Dominus  
was that comfort meant to encompass him, to mean more than anything else ever could.

Harry hears Louis gush about detail concerning their baby except the reason why he's been admitted to this  
hospital for the rest of his term. He doesn't question the boy either for the sake of respecting their privacy.  
"Any names then?" Louis' grandmother presses, half out of her chair with anxiety and eagerness to hear an  
answer.

"We've actually just chosen a name." Louis bites his tongue after that.  
He would like for it to be a surpise for his family to hear the name of his first born, their first grandchild.  
However, beyond this day they will never see his baby because of societal restrictions and the reminder makes  
Louis' heart heavy.

"Aryan." Louis forces himself to say, to inform his family of their little miracle's name. "Aryan Rayleigh Styles."  
"Oh, love." His grandmother clapped her hands together from sheer excitement. "That's a beautiful name. He's  
going to be so perfect. Big and strong, yes."

* * * * *

"Let me speak with my heir."

Louis giggled blissfully and laid back so that Harry may have access to his bump. Via their most recent  
ultrasound that took place thirty minutes after Louis' family departed, they've discovered that their pup has  
finally settled into human form. Little Aryan has created a lot of space for himself to move in Louis' womb and  
therefore kept his parents in the hospital.

Harry lowered himself to be nearer to Louis' tummy, hiking the boy's hospital gown up past his undies and  
bared all the taut, golden skin to his palms. It was his mate that was most allowed to look at Louis this  
exposed and would obtain that honour as often as possible.

Both hands framed his beloved's baby bump, his fingers fanned out to secure either side. He kissed Louis'  
protruding belly button twice over as a little gift of affection to his unborn love. The presence of his baby  
always made Harry a little weak, reminded him that he was a father and had to protect a family of his own.  
If he closed his eyes and set his cheek on Louis' belly, he'd breathe deeply and inhale the scent of his pup. He  
could sense his little one shifting around needlessly inside his mate. It was a warm sensation that overtook his  
senses and made him most proud.

"Your pup is extremely well behaved." Louis comments with a fond smile, a hand combing through Harry's  
curls one stroke at a time.

"Did you expect anything less, haud mirum?" Harry smirked and littered kisses over Louis' belly. "I am very  
excited to meet this little one."

"As am I." Louis closes his eyes let's the feeling of Harry's arms around him, assuring lips on his skin soothe  
him. "He....feels like a big baby." 

"Does he?" Harry pulled himself up onto his mate's side so he could cuddle the boy. "Our pup started out quite  
little, haud mirum."

Louis hummed distractedly and unconsciously squirmed in an effort to get comfortable. Being on his side was  
taxing already while he was far from being in need of sleep. He took Harry's hand and laced their fingers  
together to make one unit.

"My lover." Harry gripped Louis' hip with a strangled moan. "Try not to shift too much please."  
"Oh." Louis froze immediately but felt a flood of heat rising to his cheeks when he felt a bulge where there  
can't be one at such an awkward time. "D-Dominus."

"Shh." Harry growled from an inner Alpha and tried to contain himself, the urges that were reuining his self  
control. He would never ask his beloved to satisfy him. "Ignore me, haud mirum. Try to get some sleep."  
"I can't ignore you." Louis was stopped from rolling over and he huffed irritably, wanting to do something  
about their situation. He hasn't had his mate's touch in this way for so long and he's craving it by now. "Alpha,  
please."

"Nah uh, beloved." Harry gave his mate a kiss on his cheek, dangerously close to his mouth. "Rest for me."  
Louis whimpered and made a high-pitched whine that forced Harry's inner wolf to respond, to growl  
protectively and possessively. The Dominus could smell the beginnings of Louis' slick, sucking in a sharp  
inhale at the hints of sweetness. He slipped a hand lower to cup Louis' bump, shield it. His chest rumbled with  
heated vibrations when a faint wet patch was promised at the back of Louis' hospital gown.

"Dominus." Louis arched his neck, offering his neck with his bond mark for Harry to kiss relentlessly. "Have  
me. I'm yours."  
Harry was concerned about safety at the moment. He hesitated. "Right here, haud mirum?"  
Louis' eyes were bright with hope and yearning for the edge his Dominus' attention gave him. Harry's gaze was  
darkening with lust, undeniable fervour for his delicious mate.

"Please." Was all Louis had to mumble, his fingers extended to caress Harry's stubbly jaw.  
Harry groaned as he gave in to mutual lust and drew the covers up, hiding them both under it. All doubt flew  
out the window as he flipped up the back of Louis' hospital gown and felt the dampness between his mate's  
cheeks, his fingers getting drenched in it when he investigated.

"My poor haud mirum." Harry's mouth connected with Louis' messily while worked hurriedly to undo the string  
on his pants. "I've neglected you."

Louis let out a long, loud moan when he felt Harry sink into him. His slick dripped out of him and lubed up his  
walls sufficiently for the path in, gasping breathlessly. Harry's growls were endless and deep, his fist digging  
into the mattress over Louis' hip.

Harry fully sheathed himself inside his lovely mate, buried to the hilt in the warmest crevice. He felt Louis' silky  
walls clenching around him, slick leaking out from their connection as his c*ck throbbed desperately. A knot  
was not going to be difficult to make when he's so aroused already. 

The Dominus remained still at first, weighing down the blanket as his hips involuntarily jerked to get deeper.  
He nuzzled Louis' neck eagerly and suckled lightly on the skin to leave bruises around his bond mark. Louis  
felt like Harry's dream and all his wishes come true, wrapped tightly around him to give him pleasure.  
Louis' nails dug into the back of Harry's hand, ice travelling through his veins in the form of racing horses and  
crashing waves of intensity. He wants to kiss his Dominus and so turns his head to unite their lips, their  
connection maintaining the passion that rocked their sexually charged atmosphere.  
"A-Ah." Louis breathed raggedly into Harry's mouth. His Dominus started to move slow and careful, knocking  
the air out of his lungs in broken exhales.

Harry was watching him fall apart. His intense green eyes stared down at him while Louis whimpered and his  
lips quivered, unable to look away from his Dominus. Hips met his and pulled away, leaving him to part his  
legs and let Harry pick one up to set on his hip. The stretch was magnificent after that. Louis screwed his eyes  
shut and enjoyed each athletic thrust aimed at his sweet spot.

Harry's length pushed into him and each time rubbed Louis' walls raw, the girth too wide for it to  
accommodate. Louis bit his pillow to keep from screaming, failing once when Harry's hand sneaked around  
him to grip his own ignored erection.

"Oh p-please." He desperately pleaded with Harry. His jaw clenched and his hand wrapped around Harry's  
middle finger.

"Hush, my lover." Harry looked to make sure they were still alone, tightening his hold on Louis' thigh before  
moving faster.

He was struggling to be gentle, pounding into Louis' body from behind with his face buried in the boy's neck.  
Each thrust was met with Louis' lovely noises and enthusiasm. Harry pumped Louis' length to make him climax  
first, his abdomen clenching from his rapidly approaching orgasm. Louis felt so close that he stopped being  
quiet and let his body be rocked with Harry's, sweat rolling down his skin.

They had to stop when the door to their private room creaked. Harry growled deeply to warn Louis turned his  
arm around the boy to steel, stilling the boy's shuddering form.

Harry was breathless and wide-eyed, avoiding looking at the door. "What?"  
"Dominus, I've come to check on your mate." The nurse politely requests, blinded by their concealing blankets  
from seeing their indecency.

Louis is a mess of hormones lying in Harry's arms, restrained by his Dominus to keep from rolling his hips  
back. He was so full, his mate's knot growing inside him to keep them locked together.  
"Check what?" Harry doesn't mean to be snappy but he came across as so because his mate was on his c*ck  
and unable to move.

"Vitals." She was already moving around the bed to read the monitors, scribbling things down on Louis' charts.  
"Your heartrate is a bit high, Louis. Something bothering you?"  
"No." He swallows thickly and tries to stop panting, a blush rising to his cheeks as he realises that nothing  
except a blanket keeps them from being found out.

"Everything else is fine." The nurse tells them with a smile. "I'll speak with your doctor and see what's the plan.  
For now, get some rest." 

She leaves them after ten minutes of double-checking her data. The door closes and Harry hardly has time to  
breathe before Louis is on him. He's pushed back onto the pillows while his mate climbs on top of him,  
undeterred by anything. Harry looked up into the determination evident in Louis' eyes and had to kiss the boy,  
praise him for such passion.

Louis rode Harry to both their orgasms for a short time, making as much noise as he wanted. Harry ran his  
hands all over Louis' body while he did, exploring and touching everything. He kissed his mate hungrily and  
left his lips bruised, supported Louis' curved belly and cupped his pert bottom.

Once his knot formed, Louis was satisfied with a little sigh and leaning against him, wrapping his arms around  
Harry's neck. He kissed Harry's strong pulse. "Thank you for not saying no."

"I did say no." Harry reminded him with a jovial chuckle, wiping the splatters off Louis' tummy. "You are very  
skilled at persuading me."

Louis giggled and burrowed into Harry's chest. "I love you."  
"I love you, haud mirum." Harry squeezed Louis' hips. "Mother of my pup and light of my life. You were made  
for me."

"Maybe you were made for me." Louis walked his fingers up Harry's torso to his clavicle.  
"Certainly, my lover." Harry chuckled and helped Louis snuggle into him, kneading the boy's thigh as it rested  
on his hip. "Are you tired at all?"

"Why?" Louis pouted and looked up at his Dominus with a little glint in his eye. "Eager to be rid of me?"  
Harry actually had to laugh at that. "Haud mirum, the thought of a moment without you makes me live a  
thousand deaths."

* * * * *

"Home sweet home." Louis can't help but announce it as soon as he's back inside the cabin his Dominus  
brought him home to.

It will always be his and Harry's home, where their love was nurtured and consummated. Their pup will know  
this home better than their new one because this is where they'll always truly belong.  
His Dominus was carrying was Louis in his arms over the threshold of their little cabin like it was their first  
night. He had a bunch of daisies in his hand from a patch outside in the forest as they'd walked a few meters  
to get here. The boy had a dull ache in his lower abdomen but hardly was it something to worry over he felt.  
"Lie here." Harry put Louis down on the couch they've shared over many nights in front of the fire.  
"Why?" Louis tried not to let go of his Dominus when his back hit the soft cushion. "I want to be with you."  
"Yes, beloved." Harry took Louis' hands and kissed them both. "But I have something to do."

Louis sat up on his haunches when Harry went back to the door and pulled off a coat from the rack, shrugging  
it on. "Which is?" 

"I must meet with my pack." Harry comes back to him, worry dawning on his features as he gives his mate a  
sure kiss on his parted lips. "Give me an hour, haud mirum."

"Alright. I'll miss you." Louis frames Harry's cheek and pecks the tip of his Dominus' nose to send him off. He  
puts Harry's hand on his belly to feel the presence of his pup. "We will miss you."

Harrry suffers a groan before he presses his lips against Louis' more firmly, then let's go.  
For the time he is given on his own, Louis takes one bag at a time up the stairs. After two however he gives up  
and sits down on the staircase, nibbling on an apple to soothe the burn originating in his gut. He clutches his  
pregnant tummy and encourages his unborn pup to relax.

"What are you up to in there?" He questions with a little smile, making himself a cup of Rooibos tea.  
Louis hums a quiet song from a distant memory to himself and his pup, popping in an old movie into the box  
television set and sitting down to enjoy it. The warmth of the tea cascading down his raw throat does little to  
ease the burdensome pain creating blistering heat in his middle region, and Louis often catches himself  
groaning or fidgeting.

Half an hour into a black and white film, Louis' cup falls to the ground. He screams from a stabbing taste of  
anguish in his lower abdomen and feels his mouth turn dry from it. The hurt doesn't stop, only worsens to  
shocking strikes of electricity slicing through his insides until they reach his exterior.

The cup shatters and flies all over the carpet, remnants of tea splattering onto worn out rug material. He falls  
onto his side on the couch and curls into a ball, crippled by the excrutiating pain. His nails rake down the  
length of the cushion and he clenches his jaws so severely he fears a break in his teeth or cut in his gum.  
He prays for the hurt to end, for him to at least be able to breathe without intense flames erupting in his  
lungs. None of it works and Louis starts experiencing black spots in his vision, failing to see the light or the  
furniture in his own home without concentrated aches resonating through his frontal lobe.

One strained, shaky breath later Louis feels wetness in his shorts. He's too weak and reliant to reach down and  
inspect it but it becomes so overpowering. The dampness grows to drenching his shorts through, when he  
looks his head feels heavy and his thoughts scattered. He blacks out completely before any aid comes.  
Louis opens his eyes in short blinks and catches glimpses of small images each time. He feels that he's being  
moved the first time and it's Harry's scent that allows him the pleasure of relief, although it is short lived  
because everything goes dark again.

He makes a broken sound at the back of his throat when his eyes are unlidded again at the backlash of  
gruesome agony, a shout tearing through his throat.

"Louis?" Harry sounds terrified for the first time since Louis has known him, driving like a maniac down the  
hill. "How are you, haud mirum? What hurts?!"

Louis can't answer because he loses consciousness again, the pain too much to handle all at once. He has his  
hand over his bump to protect it, but the hurt is travelling outward from within.

The next time Louis opens his eyes is when he's being laid down in a gurney outside the small medical center  
in their town. He's too exhausted at this point and can hardly taste the air he breathes or see anything beyond  
his stinging tears. 

"Take care of him!" Harry is shouting, made a raving lunatic by his mate that's suffering. "Do whatever it  
takes!"

Louis is on a starched pillow with his clothes being cut off and he can't tell why. Harry is hovering over him  
worriedly, protecting his mate though he has failed in saving him. The doctors do an emergency ultrasound  
and discover that their pup is much too ready to meet the world.  
"No." Harry shakes his head when the doctor tells him, clenched fists at his side. "My Louis cannot have our  
pup now!"

The doctor was in a hurry too. If they didn't conduct a caesarian now and remove a premature pup, Louis and  
the baby won't survive. "Your pup has cut something inside your made. Internal bleeding and lack of oxygen  
for the baby will kill them, Dominus."

"Is there no other way?!" He shouted, blood on his hands from Louis as he rakes them through his hair  
roughly.

"I'm sorry, Dominus."

Harry kicked a chair in the doctor's office and it fell over with a splintered leg, prey to his predatorial strength.  
His pup should not be born here,can't be born here. Once their baby was born in this town, under the name of  
this territory, they could do nothing to take him away. All newborns belonged to the land until after their trials  
and initiation.

"Save him." Harry muttered, his back turned to the doctor as rage burned through him. "Go! Save my mate and  
my baby."


	17. chapter seventeen

Harry's been left in the private room that Louis stayed in on his own. He went from sitting on the floor to  
pulling on his hair with cruel strength while pacing. His inner wolf was driving him mad, poking hot cylinders  
into the sensitive portions of his brain. It was breaking him.

His mate has been in surgery for half an hour and Harry feels like each second brings him closer to self  
destruction. Suddenly all the pointless walking and relentless growling has no purpose. He's been left with the  
sport of allowing his worry to fester, to bombard his system.

The doctors haven't been keeping him updated and Harry is an inch closer to barging into the OR with each  
heartbeat of his.

Two hours.

Two entire hours do their unkind justice by him as they pass, until the first sign of life comes from the other  
side of a giant set of double doors. The red light is still on, signalling that the operation is still underwar.  
Harry can feel it though; he can sense the life of his baby being brought into the world.

His Alpha senses turn into alarming flares and he falls against the wall on his side, relief flooding him as the  
emotions rushing to him through his bond with Louis is reassuring. He waits impatiently after that for anyone  
to come to him. There is no sign of a person coming to him but Harryknows.

He's a father now. Another little life that is without proper sound mind and utterly dependant, is going to rely  
on him for everything. Harry will carry home an infant that's premature by two months but still going to be the  
light of his life through any and all darkness.

Harry crosses and uncrosses his arms over his chest, scenting every nonchalant and disinterested passer-by.  
Then those doors open and the red light goes off, a neatly attired nurse in her scrubs and hairnet walks out.  
She's the least of his concern because in her arms in a little bundle, the softest white cloth functioning as a  
blanket and towel.

The Dominus loses the air in his lungs and the control of his senses for just that moment when the nurse  
hurries along to him. She stops right in front of him when Harry's practically heaving to inhale air and so tense  
he feels ready to explode. The baby in her hands is concealed, hidden enough that Harry can only see a stretch  
of slightly blue skin peeking out at him.

"Here he is." She announce chirpily, already extending her arms and Harry doesn't seem to be in his right state  
of mind but he's fully capable of gathering the lovely creature in his protection.

Harry's tongue is dry and his head feels extra light but his son in his security, in his arms. He doesn't need  
anything but that to survive. There are still signs of amniotic fluid and blood all over the baby that's just  
stopped crying by the way it squirms so relentlessly. Harry hasn't seen the pup's face and he's madly in love.

"Your mate wanted you to see him before he got cleaned up." The nurse's smile sobers when Harry looks at  
her. "The doctor who delivered him would like to see you both after Louis is back in his room."

The Dominus can only nod curtly at her and gather the courage to finally move the blanket so he can see his  
baby. Aryan is the most exquisite sight he's ever witnessed, fussing with the captivity of his blanket and his  
skin so blue yet so flushed red. His eyes are squeezed shut and his skin is wet with remnants of post-birth  
fluids but he's gorgeous.

Harry kisses the baby's forehead despite the wet surface and his son doesn't settle, only gets more excited.  
Both his hands can secure the little one so well, keep him upright and safe. Aryan is a tiny baby but that's only  
because he's born early. His lungs labour to breathe but it's nothing so severe.

His father is reluctant to hand Aryan back, his shirt already stained and creased by the presence of his  
newborn. The nurse insists and Harry is convinced that he'll have the baby back soon.

His baby is gone and Harry feels like he's buried alive, the oxygen that once fed his lungs now tied to pup and  
his mate. Neither was present and he felt utterly useless standing against a wall with the fabric of his shirt  
turning crusty with drying dampness.  
\  
It took Harry two minutes to realise that his heart still felt suspended, and not entirely from happiness. The  
thrill of seeing his first-born doesn't fade so much as it makes room for the lingering worry that barrels to the  
forefront of his concentration. There it grows and festers, expiring everything it touched.

At first it was concern which built to impatience and now developed into paranoia. There was no word from  
the doctors about his mate when it's already been twenty some odd minutes after the birth of his baby.  
Something had to be wrong and the emotion that welled in his chest suddenly went flat. 

He felt nothing and it ripped through his lungs like a grenade. All the feelings his mate was experiencing, the  
anxiety and the love was gone. Their bond was one-sided and Harry heard a low ringing in his ear from the  
emptiness. Anger rose to the surface and he was too blinded with it, to stop himself from bursting into the  
unlocked OR.

It took ten seconds of arrogance coupled with violence for him to shove the security guard that tried to stop  
him away, his strength outweighing anybody's. Those ten seconds produced the one image he'll never forget  
in all his years.

"Dominus, you have to leave." A nurse was telling him with her hands on his chest that he so rudely shoved  
away.

He was unblinking and brimming with terror, looking over everyone's shoulder at the gruesome scene of his  
mate. Hands were on him again and he heard sickening cracks each time he pushed them away, the scent of  
too much blood clouding his reason. He didn't care who he hurt, who he killed if it came to that.

Louis lay unconscious on the bed he gave birth on, head lolled to the side. His chin was pressing against his  
pale, nearly blue shoulder. Blood all but drenched his lower half, his body too weak to have birthed a baby yet  
it did. Harry could smell it, he could only see the horrific tragedy when such a wonderful baby came from it.  
Grief was ripping Harry apart and he was reduced to a beast that mourned his beloved. He knew Louis was  
alive by the weak pulse travelling through their bond but that wasn't strong enough. Harry was not going to  
lose Louis, not when the boy was all he ever truly fought for in his life.

Harry was a force to be combatted when guards tried to escort him out of the OR, but he wouldn't go. He  
makes it out of the turmoil even though it follows him and his knees buckle at Louis' side, crashing to the  
ground in a way that causes a crack in his prosthetic and bruises his able knee. His hand reaches out and  
frames his lover's beautiful face, caught up in a whirwind of heartbreak.

His hands shiver and his eyes burn when he touches Louis, his neck and his flat tummy.

"Louis, my love." He gets nothing but a small twitch, the parting of Louis' purple lips like he was trying to say  
the Dominus' name even when in so much pain. "Come back to me, haud mirum. Our son is here."  
He becomes a weak man that's easily dragged out of the OR by three burly security guards, the doors  
slamming shut when he lands on the ground outside. His hand is bloody as it falls to his lap and he pulls on  
his hair, gruelling agony drugging his system.

Someone tries pulling him to his feet and Harry throws them against the wall when he's standing. "Touch me  
again and I'll have your head."

Covered in Louis' blood, Harry retires to a dark corner of the waiting room where he waits in pure misery. He  
can't survive without Louis, there's no chance of it. Just the thought makes him want to tear his hair out and  
scream while his blood boils profusely in his veins. Surely that pain can't be as bad as losing his beloved.  
Four hours go by with Harry a mess on the ground, his one able knee now battered brought up to his chest.  
He hasn't experienced this twist of himself before and it's a cursed breath of fresh air.

A hurt or lost mate becomes the death sentence to a Dominus, irrespective of how many babies they managed  
to bring into the world. A Dominus could love their pups for an eternity but what they needed, what their wolf  
needed was the affection of their mate. 

* * * * *

Louis is brought back after the nurses wash him up. He's exhausted by the way he looks and smiles at his  
Dominus once their eyes meet. Their lips connect before either has a chance to breathe and green is the most  
energetic, most feral. Harry kisses his mate with a passion that's too ardent for so soon after giving birth.  
"I'm sorry, my beloved." He apologises after withdrawing himself and pulling a chair up next to Louis' bed.  
"How do you feel, haud mirum? Are you in pain? What can I do?"

All Louis does is smile in a way that's more indicative of his exhausted form than anything else. His frail hand  
with crooked fingers and a slow pulse is held between Harry's protective palms.

"I'm f-fine." Louis assures him in a croak, coughing in a tight spasm afterwards. "Promise."  
Harry turns on the doctor that brought him in, the same one that dared to push him away from his mate when  
Louis needed him most. "How dare you stop me from seeing him? What happened to my beloved in that  
room?!"

His voice rose as did his simmering temper from tepid to rapidly boiling, ending in a weak squeeze from  
Louis. The boy didn't want him straining himself when the Dominus had the duty of now protecting their pup.  
"Dominus." The white-haired but young medical professional was Dominus too and content with combatting a  
volatile Alpha male. "Your mate suffered haemorrhaging after having your pup, although it was to a mild  
degree and we took care of it."

Harry's inner wolf curled into a pained ball of discarded heartache and howled at the moon as it hung above  
them, a dreary pale sphere in the sky. He sat beside his mate and leaned into Louis so he could have their  
faces close together, nuzzling and affectionately offering sweet words. Harry forgot other people were present  
even after the door closed upon their exit.

"My beloved." Harry tasted Louis' thin and ghostly lips in small pecks.

His mate was so radiant even though he was physically drained. Louis' bump was gone under his thin hospital  
gown and he winced at the few movements he could make. Harry kissed the boy's hand, each finger and his  
palm, before gushing about their pup.

"Did you see him?" Harry asks in a whisper, an enthusiastic smile plastered over his features. "He's perfect,  
haud mirum. The most beautiful baby I've ever seen."

Louis is fond of the way his Dominus loves their pup, holding onto the man's hand. "He is beautiful. Our  
beautiful baby boy."

Harry nuzzles Louis' dainty wrist and listens to his pulse, steady and healthy. "How do you feel, my lover?"  
"Like I have no lower body." Louis jokes even when Harry frowns confusedly.

Harry held his lips against the supple texture of skin behind Louis' ear. "I wish they'd have allowed me to be  
with you." 

Louis whimpers and angles his head towards his Dominus, their lips together but not in a kiss. His eyes were  
closed and his body was engulfed in the undesirable torture of pain, the last of his anesthestics wearing off  
finally. "I-I love you."

"My sweet lover. I love you." Harry shuts his eyes too, relying only on the scent of his mate to soothe him. He  
growls in a manner that's comforting and protective.

"It-It was so s-scary." Louis chokes on the sob clogging his throat and he loses a few tears to the grief he  
suffers. "I was- I wanted you with me. W-With us."

Harry rushes to comfort his lovely mate, cupping Louis' cheek in one hand and hoisting himself higher to kiss  
away those dreadful tears. Each one touches his lips and he embraces his lover so Louis cries softly into his  
chest.

"Hush, my haud mirum. You have me now, our pup as well. He's finally with us." The Dominus looks into Louis'  
bloodshot blue eyes and smiles when the boy does, their foreheads resting on each other's. "I'm never going  
to lose you."

Louis whines in a tone that requests affection and attention, which Harry gladly gives to him. The Alpha kisses  
him deeply, their lips meshed together in a pleasant union. Harry feels Louis' cold fingers encircling his wrists  
where they frame the boy's face and starts to feel the fear ebbing.

The door to their private room opens and in comes the nurse. She has Aryan half conscious but still powerfully  
wailing in her arms, the volume high and strong. Harry takes the pup from her and affectionately kisses  
Aryan's cheek, smiling when the baby grabs onto his hair with angry fists.  
"He needs to be fed." The nurse explains when Louis gets to hold Aryan, caging the baby in one arm and  
caressing his hairless head with the other. "He will have to nurse from you."

Louis hasn't started lactating at all during his pregnancy and it had to be induced in a quite painful method  
during his labour. Harry was unaware and Louis was mostly exhausted because of that stress. He nonetheless  
brought Aryan up to his chest and helped the baby latch onto his already swollen nipple.

His pup had the chubbiest cheeks and tiniest appendages. Those stout fingers of his wrapped Harry's long  
finger while the Dominus hovered over them protectively. His mate and baby were defenseless against any  
threat now. Aryan often kicked his feet when he became restless and Harry's thumb rubbed over the heel of  
his soft foot, kissing each little toe.

Aryan looked like a happy baby when those around him were familiar. His mother and his father were people  
he knew, the voices and the scents. He drank all that he wanted to and his little pouted mouth went slack  
instantly, sleep becoming him.

"He's going to be just like you." Louis teases Harry when the Dominus sits on the edge of his bed, not at all  
willing to move away.  
Harry looked at his mate in disbelief at first then a chuckle came from him, eyes light and amused. "Why do  
you say so, my lover?"

Louis leans into Harry's side and fastens his baby in the crook of his arm, the scent of a newborn filling his  
mind and easing him into a parallel universe of peace. His Dominus kisses his forehead, temple and finally his  
lips. Harry is going to be clingy and affectionate always with his mate now that his pup is here. 

"It doesn't take much to make him fall asleep." Louis answers sweetly, a well of emotion deepening in his  
chest. "That's just like you."

Harry's chest is in a permanent rumble, one that's protective and challenging to anyone that came near them.  
He leans down to press his lips to Aryan's tiny nose, the ultra soft skin a wonder to feel. The baby makes a  
little noise and his minute hand comes up to nudge Harry's jaw.

The Dominus stays bent over so he can nuzzle into the baby hand that's gripping his nose with no strength at  
all. Aryan yawns with his set of cherry, plump lips and Louis giggles at him. Harry's mate supports the back of  
Aryan's head in his palm and cups the weight at his bottom with the other.

"He is perfect, haud mirum." Harry proclaims, a proud father at heart. "My vegrandis mirum is all I could ever  
ask for in a son."  
"He was born too early." Louis reminds himself with a sad sigh. "Doctor said he's strong, that he didn't even  
need help to breathe or process milk."

He kissed Louis sweetly and laid a possessive hand on Aryan's tummy. Their son was so small that he mostly  
disappeared under Harry's palm. How he got this lucky he isn't sure. Why did the stars above declare him fit to  
have the most beautiful baby boy?

"Dominus. Louis." Their doctor who delivered Aryan walked in with a clipboard and not too thrilled smile. "May  
I speak with you now?"

"Of course." Louis was the one to answer him.

He got the vibe that something was wrong with his baby but prayed persistently that his gut was wrong.  
Maybe not wrong but not entirely right either. Where there were thousands of golden threads used to make his  
baby as perfect as he is, one amongst the majority was bent or twisted too tightly.

Their doctor closed the door behind him and came to stand at the foot of Louis' bed, opening the file he  
carried under the clipboard. "How are you feeling, Louis?"

"Fine." The boy replies honestly, feeling Harry's concern and stare burning into his side. "Is something wrong  
with my pup?"

Harry makes a deeply sinister sound through his teeth when he hears that question. Reality seems to take a  
dip and everything the Dominus was fretting over is resurrected. He stiffens at Louis' side and awaits the  
verdict from their doctor.

"Your pup is healthy." He starts with, clicking his pen closed. "Extremely healthy for a premature baby and  
we've put that down to him developing partially as his true form in your womb."  
Louis and Harry are pleased to hear compliments about their newborn baby. While Louis is going along with  
each word from the doctor as it comes, Harry feels a deadline coming along. It makes him nauseous.  
"We ran some tests before we returned the pup to you, as is protocol when a baby is premature." The doctor  
takes a deep breath and sympathy washes over his features. "Your pup is blind."

The air in the room stops existing and Louis feels the tears start to flow already, a result of the imbalanced  
hormones inside him. He covers his mouth to prevent an audible sob from crashing through, looking down at  
his little angel. The angel given to him as a gift, the responsibility he has now to this wonderful miracle.   
"Blind?" Harry barked, sounding not at all pleased.

"Yes." The doctor prepares to recite his explanation. "If your pup were all human, we wouldn't be able to tell  
but wolf pups are more straightforward. All their capabilities are visible at birth. Your pup damaged his optical  
nerves during the time he was switching forms in Louis' womb. I'm sorry, Dominus. There's nothing we can  
do."

The doctor waits for two seconds before leaving without a word. He'd come back later with more news and  
tips. Aryan's little eyes were twitching under pale lids, the promise of an exquisite colour hidden underneath  
them.

Harry got off the bed and walked to the door, then back again. He didn't know what to do or to say. His inner  
Alpha was silent and of no help. The Dominus watched his mate closely, battling to hold back his tears whilst  
rubbing Aryan's little hand. Their baby was so kind already, so peaceful. How dare Harry be the one to pass  
down a heartbreaking trait to that angel?

"Harry?" Louis called to him when the draft got too cold and he felt too alone. "Come back."  
Of course the Dominus did. He rushed to Louis' side and sat down beside him, closer than before. The man  
took Louis' face framed in his hands and pressed his lips to the boy's temple. A tear almost made to the  
surface from him too but he denied it sanction.

"I love my baby." Louis whimpered through his sick feeling, holding a sleeping Aryan much closer. "Please tell  
me-"

"I do too, haud mirum." Harry assured him with a hard press of his lips to his mate's. "This is my son, my lover.  
I will love him forever. Nothing can ever change that."  
Louis was reassured by his Alpha mate's promise to never leave and never give them up. His life was sewn to  
Aryan's the way it was to Harry's now and he went where the baby did.  
"Are you still happy?" Louis' one hand extended upwards to caress Harry's tightened jaw.

"Of course." The Dominus closed his eyes and leaned into Louis' hand with a little grumble from his ribcage.  
"Me too." His mate declares with a little smile. "I already love him so much. My little lion."  
"Haud mirum." Harry says solemnly, his hand cupping one side of Louis' face to see those divine crystal blue  
orbs. They're so tired yet so exotic anyway. "Our baby is born on this land, in the old territory."

It only dawns on Louis what his Dominus means after he looks into those emerald eyes, the purest green of  
them all. The realisation sinks into his heart and makes it weigh heavy, so much so that his bottom lip starts  
to quiver and Harry has to kiss him to make it stop. Louis' tears are tasted on the Dominus' lips and tongue.  
"Harry-"

"It's alright, my lover." Harry pulls back and pecks Louis' lips thrice more, fervently. "I'll take care of this. I'll do  
everything I can to keep our baby with us."

The old territory they were both born into and now Aryan is, was achingly traditional. Aryan is a strong and  
beautiful baby that is without a doubt a Dominus in status. No premature mate to a Dominus can survive  
without respiratory aids and medication. When Aryan turns into an adolescent, he'll be sent out into the forest  
to survive all on his own. Louis can't allow that, and neither will Harry. 

Fortunately for them, the status determination will only be done at Aryan's nine month mark. That gives them  
two entire months to find a loophole in tradition.

* * * * *

Louis' paranoia has become chronic and unhealthy, over the period of three days.  
Their doctor visits him regularly and Louis feigns a perfect sleep schedule when all he does is stay awake  
watching Aryan. His fatigue is remarkably upsetting to Harry as his mate is now half the weight and size he  
used to be.

When he helps Louis into the bath tub he can see the ribs at his torso poking through the skin. His joints hurt  
from lack of calcium besides the supplements he takes to nourish his breastmilk. His IV stand had to follow  
him everywhere because the glucose it supplied was the only form of energy he had.

Louis can't sleep because he's petrified that someone will take his baby away. Harry spoke with their doctor  
and found out that it's a common symptom amongst new mothers, one that will only deteriorate once they're  
back in their home. Their nest is where Louis feels safe and that's where he needs to take their pup.  
"I'm scared, Harry." He confesses to his Dominus one night when they're wrapped up in each other and Aryan  
is sleeping on Harry's chest. "Please don't let them take my baby away."

"I promised I wouldn't, haud mirum." Harry tells him again like he has thirteen times already.  
Louis exhaled while hooking his chin over Harry's shoulder and shutting his eyes. His Dominus' scent was  
soothing to his troubles and enveloped him in the warmth of love and reliance. Harry held onto Aryan by  
cupping the baby's bottom in his giant hand, and wraps the other arm around Louis' slender waist.  
"There's no need to be afraid." Harry tells his mate, lips against the boy's temple. "It's my duty to keep you  
happy and my pup safe."

Aryan cries and cries when he's left to sleep without his parents holding him through it. He wails loud enough  
to disturb the whole private wing until Louis scoops him up and cuddles him. Their stay at the hospital is over  
at last and Aryan still hasn't opened his eyes. He recognises Louis' scent and Harry's touch, but won't let them  
see the colour of his eyes.

"Hello there, little lion." Louis hoists Aryan up into the air when the pup sneezes and lowers him to the curve  
of his chest. "Are you cold?"

His pup stretches out and makes a soft, delicate sound. Louis kisses his reddening nose and thumbs over his  
forehead. Aryan grabs hold of Louis' thumb and doesn't let go.

"Get in, haud mirum." Harry returns from his visit into town where he bought enough baby clothes and  
essentials.

He helped Louis into the high-risen hospital bed and pulled the covers over his mate. Aryan's mouth falls open  
and a little drool slides onto Louis' bare chest. Harry brings his lips to Aryan's cheek and holds them there to  
feel the warmth of his little lion. 

"I need you to get some sleep, haud mirum." Harry encourages his mate desperately. "You haven't closed your  
eyes in so long."

"I'm fine." Louis said with a very unconvincing yawn.

Harry brings Louis home with their newborn pup cradled in the boy's arms. He opens the door for them and  
ushers Louis subtly up the stairs to their bedroom. Aryan doesn't have a nursery because they never planned  
to have him live here, which meant he'd sleep in a basinette in their room.

"Where are you going?" Louis asked worriedly when Harry left him under the covers with a dozing Aryan  
gripping his shirt.

"To the attic, haud mirum." His Dominus comes back to him and lays a kiss on his cheek. "I will come right  
back to you."

"Alright." Louis returns the kiss and smiles weakly, snuggling into their warm bed sheets with his pup in a  
circular cradle made by Harry's pillows. "Don't take too long."

Harry doesn't. He yanks the chain to the attic stairs and takes them on two at a time, coming to rest at the  
freezing cold room. The box he desires lay neglected, damp and dusty in the spot closest to a boarded  
window and the Dominus grabs it before racing back down.

The decrepit box will not be good for either Louis or Aryan if they were in contact with it, so for two empty  
hours Harry sat outside in the hallway. He kept the door to their bedroom gaping so that he could monitor his  
family while he dived right into the diaries and documents of Dominus' before him.

* * * * *

"What are you doing, my love?" Louis' honey-sweet voice came from somewhere above Harry.  
The Dominus looked up from his poor treasure of papers of ancient stationery to see his well rested mate  
standing over him. Louis looked better already and wasn't carrying Aryan so their pup is most likely still  
asleep, hence their low volumes. Harry held his hand out and Louis took it, easily sliding onto the man's lap on  
the floor.

Louis has healed well and quickly. He was sore without a doubt but nothing stopped him - not even Harry  
could - from doing anything he wanted. His loyalty lay with Aryan more than any other aspect and his  
devotion was predominant.

"What are these?" Louis didn't touch any of the objects splayed out around him as he asked, as there was  
writing in deep ink he couldn't understand scattered on each one.  
"If a Dominus were to record each happening of his life, this is where he'd put it." Harry explains, taking a  
break from all the reading to clasp Louis' delicate waistline.

"Oh." His mate sat back against his chest. "Have you found something yet then?"  
That's where Harry gets giddy and terrified at the same time. His fatherly status and duty dictates that he be  
brave about anything he fears. He kneads Louis' sides carefully and opens his eyes from their hiatus, a devious  
curl to his lip. 

"Just one."

Louis is intrigued and looks at his Dominus expectantly. "Tell me, my love."

Harry takes a breath and straightens his back, reaching over Louis' thigh to rub where his prosthetic was  
creating uncomfortable friction against the stump of his leg. Louis shuffles out of the way and unhooks the  
tabs of the wooden leg to remove it entirely. He sets it aside carefully before prompting Harry to go on.  
"He'll wake up at any moment." He threatens his Dominus with a raised eyebrow, working his fingers over the  
faintest swelling that's surrounding Harry's crippled limb.

Closing his eyes again and letting the back of his head hit the wooden post on the staircase, Harry groans  
extensively before responding. His inner wolf is excited by the prospect presented in the records he's  
examined to no short standard, and the inkling of dominance is starting to fester.

"The Dominus that controls a pack of more than thirteen pure blood-lines will have their first-born,  
irrespective of gender or status, regarded as their heir. An heir must remain with its parents so as to learn the  
traditions of the pack and its heritage."

Louis stops massaging Harry's stump and stares straight ahead at his Alpha mate with a puzzled frown. He  
nudges and pokes at the Dominus' chest until those big, scary green eyes open themselves up to him again.  
"What....-" His voice trails off in fear and anxiety. "What does that mean, my love?"

Harry first gets to his feet. The floor is no place for his mate to sit post-labour when he's supposed to be  
recovering. He clips on his prosthetic to aid his step and pulls Louis to his feet, not ignoring the permanent  
crease of the boy's brow at every movement he made. Louis was extremely sore yet still so mobile. It  
astonishes Harry.

"Simply-" Harry slides his hand into Louis' and leads his mate back into their bedroom where the subtle scent  
of their baby overruled every other aroma. "-I must find thirteen bloodlines to rule."  
Louis actually giggles upon hearing that, stifling the amusement with his cupped hand over his mouth. Harry  
is less jovial and helps Louis into bed without any other response.

"How are you going to do that?" Louis doesn't let Harry leave him, holds onto the man's arm even after he's  
tucked into bed. "There are old packs in this territory, Harry. They'd never give you a chance."  
His Dominus growls at the thought of giving up. He looks at his infant son asleep on his tummy, little hands  
and feet kicked free of his baby blanket. "I will just have to take it then."

* * * * *

Their baby first opened his eyes two days after he was brought home from the hospital. Being a five day old  
infant who opens his eyes and can't see anything different to when they're shut, means only one thing. His  
cries turn to screeches when he notices that Louis or Harry isn't near him, cuddling him.

Harry is napping on the floor by the fire - Louis doesn't know why he abandoned the couch - and wakes up to  
hear his baby screaming like he's being hurt. The Dominus forgets about his comfortable slumber and rushes  
to help Aryan, losing his breath when he sees that mirroring shade of green hidden behind ghastly white.   
"Oh my little lion." He picks up the pup and cradles him to quieten the agony of hearing Aryan scream like  
this. "You are the most beautiful pup I ever did see."

Aryan settles into sniffles and clenching his fists in the air, tiny limbs flailing and voice cracking as he came  
down. Harry was his dominant parent and relaxed the baby's anxiety with small pats on his back after turning  
Aryan over. It's been uncovered that Aryan liked to sleep this way, lazying on Harry's forearm with his limbs  
spilling over the sides.

"Louis." Harry goes on a search for his mate, that's always busy with one thing or the other when he knows he  
shouldn't be.

He's staring into those spellbinding orbs that don't have enough of a glow but already possess a million  
emotions that are too intricate for a baby. Louis is lying in bed upstairs leafing through a novel with his legs  
splayed out to lessen the pressure on his bottom, and looks up with a smile when his Dominus walks in.  
"Hi." He greets with a little sniffle, that tone melting along with his smile when he sees Aryan's eyes.  
They're empty but brimming with intangible meaning. Both deep green crystals are seeking out Louis but they  
can't see him, won't ever see him and it breaks Louis' heart. The boy disregards his own discomfort in favour  
of scrambling towards the edge of the bed and meeting Harry halfway.

"Oh." His fingers tremble like his bottom lip when he delicately caresses Aryan's back and arm. "My poor  
baby."

Aryan starts fidgeting all over again and wants to go to Louis, wants to be protected by the voice and scent he  
knew best. Harry sat on the bed while Louis cradled the baby and lightly rocked him, kissing both spots just  
above the pup's disabled eyes.

Louis breathed in his pup's scent and hummed something sweet to him, feeling Aryan go limp in his arms as  
the discomfort waned. The pup was asleep shortly after and Louis awarded him a plush area on the bed next  
to him, still supporting the dozing pup while he leaned across to kiss Harry.

His Alpha growled like he was surprised when their lips met. "Haud mirum, could I keep him with me?"  
Nodding with a short giggle, Louis carefully hands Aryan back to the Dominus. He knew how much the man  
loved to fall asleep with the baby very near to him. "His eyes are so beautiful. My lovely baby boy."

Harry grunted in acquiscience but said nothing, both mates looking down at the little balled up creature in his  
arms. Both Aryan's feet fitted in Harry's palm and the baby's head fell onto his chest, lips going slack once  
more. Their baby's eyes really were breathtaking, purest green hidden behind a thin veil of silver.  
That silver kept him from ever seeing this world.

* * * * *

"My little lion." Louis leans down to blow raspberries into Aryan's little bloated tummy. "How do we feel today?"  
His baby was wiggly and excitable today. They're in the middle of their tummy time on his and Harry's grand  
mattress. Aryan was on his back in just a nappy, his little limbs kicking out and knocking into Louis' hands or  
face. He was a very happy baby by the way he held onto Louis when the latter came closer to him. 

"That's a good answer, I presume." Louis takes Aryan's tiny fist and nibbles on his fingers, laughing softly  
when the baby sneezes and grapples for something else to hold onto.

Aryan caught Louis' finger and held on tightly, little fingernails turning white with how hard he squeeezed.  
Louis just finished shortening those microscopic cutips with his teeth, since the mother biting off their baby's  
nails was more delicate than using any kind of clipper.

The pup's eyes were wide open and staring at the ceiling or darting across the room, unforgiving in how it  
never gave him a glimpse of anything. Louis caressed Aryan's sides and thumbed over the little one's belly  
button, smiling his brightest when the pup's fingers tangle themselves in his hair.

"What's this then?" Louis frees his baby's hands from his hair and gently turns Aryan on his side to inspect a  
few rashes on his unharmed, supple skin.

There are faint red patches on his baby's skin like odd rashes, a few sores littered around those vulnerabilities.  
He pressed his lips against them and sensed that they were harmless, reassured also by his doctor's orders.  
They'd disappear soon after Aryan's gotten used to being in his own skin.

"Shall we go outside?" Louis had approximately ten to twenty minutes before Aryan nodded off again. He'd like  
to utilise that time in getting Aryan familiar with their home.

Aryan doesn't make any sounds but his eyes follow Louis' voice and doesn't start to fuss when he's lifted from  
the bed. He holds onto Louis' shirt at the shoulder, fabric fisted between minute chubby fingers. Louis carries  
him, cradled between his crooked arms down the stairs into the toasty vicinity of their blazing fireplace.  
Harry went out earlier for reasons he didn't disclose to Louis, leaving his mate and pup alone in the safety of  
their home to be just a few kilometers away. Louis made it out onto their creaky porch in just his shorts cut  
from sweatpants and one of Harry's soft cotton shirts. He supported the back of Aryan's head in his palm but  
the baby's cheek was against his heartbeat, lips pouted and eyes shut.

"Welcome to the world, sweetheart." He kissed the top of Aryan's hairless head, looking out at the tall trees  
and harmless little animals scurrying about from trunk to trunk.

The breeze was relaxed and the air it contained smelled just like the pure nature it blew through. Only the  
cleanest earthy aroma travelled with it and reached Louis' senses, dropping them all into a peaceful state.  
Nothing is like nature and nature in this form can never be replaced.

Some rustling to his right caught Louis' attention and when he looked, a wolf that's as dark as night and filled  
with mystery weaved through the bushes onto their land. Harry's wolf was large and broad at the shoulders, an  
especially intimidating sight. He made his way over to where Louis stood against the railing and raised his  
head, magical green eyes landing on the little life form Louis held.

"He's been awake for a while now." Louis informs the Dominus, angling their pup so Harry could see Aryan  
better.

Harry's muzzle grazed Aryan's elbow and the baby responded with familiarity. He reached out, guided by  
Louis' hand, and grasped the silky threads of Harry's black fur. The wolf huffed not ungratefully and stepped  
closer to allow his pup that privilege.

Aryan's vision was unstable and unreliable but he recognised his father under any circumstances. He leaned  
into the wolf's stability from Louis' arms that were still embracing him protectively. His fat baby arms easily   
locked around Harry's snout below the wolf's jewel resembling eyes, pale white skin clinging to pitch black  
softness.

Louis giggled and fondly observed Aryan's fragile form glued to Harry. He was still there to protect his baby  
from falling or slipping, but it was a magical scene to witness anyway. Aryan's head rested between Harry's  
deepset eyes, soft grumbles coming from the wolf when his baby's cheek sat on his fur.  
"He's almost asleep again." Louis is cautious about removing Aryan from Harry's body, hugging the little one  
to his chest. "Come inside with us."

He's in the kitchen four minutes later making a cup of extra sweet tea for himself after setting Aryan down for  
his nap, when Harry comes in. The Dominus' jubilance is palpable in the way he kneels by Aryan's cradle first  
and thumbs over the pup's chubby cheeks with an unsmotherable grin on his face.

Louis sits on the couch with his lime green mug of tea and Harry joins him just after that, receiving a peck on  
those deep dimples. Harry brings Louis closer to him by throwing an arm around his mate's narrow shoulders  
and tugging until he was positioned in his lap.

"So what were you up to today?" Louis asks, sipping from his beverage whilsts leaning into Harry.  
His Alpha was more interested in closing his eyes and kissing Louis' face, from temple to jaw. "I gathered  
some information."

"Oh?" Louis set his mug down on the floor and folded his legs in Harry's lap, so thankful for accelerated  
healing that allowed him to bend all he needed to now. "What did you find out?"  
"There are seven packs in the world that control more than thirteen pure bloodlines." Harry keeps his mouth  
pressed against Louis' cheekbone as he speaks. "Only one is in these parts."

Louis is listening intently to all his Dominus has to say, worried extensively as well as hopeful. "How far away  
are they?"

"Too close." Harry sighs like he's been defeated and wraps his arms around Louis' waist. "I'd have to fight a  
Dominus from a bloodline older than any other in this territory. Besides it being a betrayal, he's already  
looking forward to meeting me."


	18. chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> time to cry . all credits to this fanfic goes to SS98

Louis is spending his third hour of the day walking around near the fireplace with Aryan in his arms. The baby  
loved being warm but fussed tremendously when it came to clothing. Being already a month old, it was  
difficult not to blame Harry's rustic genes for causing such a dilemma. As a solution to this, Louis let Aryan  
stay clothed in just his nappy whilst asleep against his mother's shoulder, fine soft skin exposed to the  
delicate heat of the crackling timber.

Harry finished preparing the onion soup Louis requested and took the garlic bread out of the oven. It smelt  
divine all the way from where Louis was standing, humming a lullaby to the faint snores of his baby.

"Haud mirum?" His Dominus called to him in a low volume. Louis' hearing has since heightened now that Aryan  
sleeps away from him and the boy could pick up almost any sound. 

Louis padded over in his faded sports jersey and socks. He felt Aryan's tiny fists get a little tighter on his shirt.  
"Hmm?"

His Dominus was smiling when Aryan came into view with his precious mate, reaching over the counter to rub  
the baby's little foot. "I've forgotten what I was going to say."

Giggling but not estranged to the situation, Louis took one of Aryan's small hands in his and gently rocked  
him. "He's asleep now. I think I'll put him into his crib now."

"I'll take him." Harry volunteered quickly. He was an avid fan of cuddling his pup, his delightful heir.

Louis rolled his eyes fondly and handed Aryan over to his Dominus. He heard the baby sniffle and threaten to  
wake up from his sleep when he was torn apart from the warm, comforting chest. Harry gathers the baby up in  
his arms and drapes the pup over his forearm the way Aryan is fond of.

His pup's lips became visibly pouted and he settled once again when he was lying over his father's arm. Harry's  
hand curled around Aryan's thigh to keep him steady and the baby's cheek rested on the crook of his elbow.  
The Dominus kept Aryan's limbs from injury by securing them in his other hand.

"Smells wonderful." Louis compliments the food, dipping a chunk of crispy bread into the soup. He feeds  
himself a bit and a touch of soup gets onto the corner of his mouth.

"Thank you, my lover." Harry leans in and kisses Louis where the soup was smeared. He licked it off.

Together they sat on their little couch by the fire with a new movie on - one that they purchased on their last  
trip into town. Louis had himself planted on Harry's lap where he could both feed his Dominus as well as see  
to his dozing pup. Harry has one arm snaked around Louis' slender waist, tugging his mate closer.

"Haud mirum, I have something to discuss with you." Harry straightens his back and Louis puts the empty bowl  
on the floor. "Something important."

Louis caresses down the path of Aryan's chubby arm, hearing his baby sniffle and his little nose twitch in his  
sleep. "What's wrong?"

Harry drums his fingers over Louis' hip. His mate had a bit more flesh on him now after their baby was born,  
yet Harry seemed to love him even more. There was more to love anyway. Sometimes at night he'd just bury  
his face in Louis' soft tummy so he slept so comfortably.

"Nothing is wrong, beloved." Harry shifts Aryan from his arm onto his chest, a large hand covering the expanse  
of his pup's back. "Do you remember what I said about doing anything to keep Aryan with us?"

"Yes." Louis answers solemnly.

The recent developments on their efforts to keep their family together have been extraordinarily null. Harry's  
written to and visited the Dominus he means to overthrow, but Louis hasn't heard a peep on anything. He's  
hoping that at last his Alpha mate won't deny him.

"I have news." Harry clears his throat and allows Aryan's little, chubby face to be protected in the crook of his  
neck. His doubtful green eyes unearth the nervousness in Louis. "Good and bad, I'm afraid."  
"Tell me." Louis urges desperately. His eyes grow wide and his heart beats just the tiniest bit faster. "What is it,  
my love?" 

Harry's dimple makes a curt appearance. "The Dominus does not want to fight. He is old with no children and  
is willing to regard me as his heir upon his demise."  
Louis' expression splits in two because of his wide grin. He kisses Harry's lips firmly with a giggle and  
butterflies in his tummy. "That's wonderful!"

"Yes, however-" Harry pats Louis' hip and smiles just as terribly fond as Louis. "-he has one condition for me. I  
cannot say no to it."  
"What's the condition?" Louis' fears are reborn as a natural instinct. He worries for whatever the intention  
might be.

"I must live under his roof." Harry repeats cautiously. "He insists that I train with his pack and you live with me  
in their pack house."  
"And-" Louis trails his finger down Aryan's back to feel the baby's intakes of air. "-what about this little one?"  
"Of course, he will stay with us." Harry frowns a little in confusion. "I don't think he will separate my pup from  
me."

Louis clears his throat and folds his arms over Harry's shoulder, puckering his lips as he set his chin on his  
Dominus. "Me neither."

Harry chuckles in a manner that causes his chest to rumble and for Aryan to make a pitiful sound in his sleep.  
Louis cooes at his adorable sleeping pup and squeaks when his hip is squeezed unceremoniously.  
"What was that for?" Pouting naively, Louis meekly inspects the area of himself that now feels bruised.  
His mate's growl was laced with silent innuendo and he nuzzled Louis' neck a little roughly.  
"You're too butch for me sometimes, Alpha." Louis' eyes crinkled at the corner from how effortlessly his glee  
spread.

Harry set the record straight by patting Louis' hip and nipping at their healed bond mark. "For a lovely little  
thing such as yourself, haud mirum?"  
Louis' muted gasp of embarassment had his cheeks heating up to a light pink. "When did you become so good  
with your words?"

His Dominus caught Louis' earlobe between his teeth and waited for his mate to whimper. "I haven't touched  
you in a while. Too long, in fact."  
"It's been long enough." Louis replied sassily, his efforts at climbing off Harry's lap ending poorly. "I just had a  
baby. Your pup."

"You had my son and heir a month ago, haud mirum." Harry watched Louis get off the sofa to return his plate  
to the kitchen, a salacious twinkle in his darkening eyes. "I will take care of you, my lover."  
Louis rolled his eyes fondly from where he was rinsing his dishes but no amount of masking could envelope  
the blush colouring his cheeks. He let out a rush of air that whistled past his teeth when two arms encircled   
his lower middle. His Dominus' presence was all encompassing and possessed him wholly, a pair of lips  
nudging his neck to gain more access.

"You're.....-" Louis licked his lips and curled his fingers against Harry's arms when the Alpha pulled more on  
the neckline of his shirt. "-particularly affectionate today."  
"I have the most extraordinary mate in the world who gave me my heautiful son." Harry spoke gruffly. "I have  
every right to be affectionate."

Louis mewled involuntarily when Harry's teeth sank into his shoulder inch by inch, taking no blood but leaving  
him paralysed. His eyelids fluttered before they closed and he breathed in long drawls, a noteworthy bulge  
forming in the crotch that's against his behind.

"He's sleeping." Harry said about their son, indubitably implying that now is the ideal time to be intimate.  
"What say you to letting me have you, my lover?"

Instead of verbalising a response, Louis spun around before drawing Harry's mouth to his. "I say get on with  
it."

* * * * *

Louis lay lazily on his front like a euphoric fantastical vision from the Gods. Harry had draped a white sheet  
across Louis' back and behind to conceal it, but Louis' beauty was more than what shone on the outside. Some  
sunlight made it through the curtains and made Louis glow from within, the skin of his hairless legs also  
treated so delicately.

They had made love for two hours on their bed and Louis should be exhausted, sprawled out on his back, but  
he was a gracious figure. He lay beside his mate with his feet up and his belly more than a little bloated from  
how persistent Harry's knot was.

He hummed contentedly when his gentle Dominus caught one of his ankles and made room for a nuzzle at the  
dip of his spine. "I can smell myself on you. In you, rather."  
Louis gasped and swatted Harry's pectoral to chastise him for such a remark, but all that ended up in is being  
tackled to the mattress. "Unhand me- Harry!"

Harry growled playfully into Louis' neck and tickled his mate's sides where he was soft and vulnerable. "Say  
you love me."

"Of course I love you." Louis wiggled and blushed when he felt moisture in the sheets, more dripping out of  
him. "You've ruined me."

Ever the loyal Dominus, Harry allowed his deft and skilful fingers to sneak their way into the crevice of Louis'  
perky bottom. He investigated the wet, loose rim mercilessly with an approving rumble. "And you've ruined  
me, my lover."

"Do you suppose-" Louis inhaled deeply the crisp air of the midday. "-we could be the same at the old  
Dominus' house as we are here?" 

Harry is tracing each knob on Louis' arched spine reverently. He is tempted to kiss each vertebrae so that even  
the most vital essence of Louis' being knows how in love he is with his mate. For now, Harry's will had to  
suffice with a few grazes.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked with more rough edging around the lisp of his words, slurred by the  
pleasure still running through him.

Louis responded but not without blushing first, tugging his covers up to partially conceal his face. The only  
thing perceivable about him is his brilliant blue eyes. "I mean, when we make love."

Harry's mouth twitches into a little smug smile that deepens his dimples and makes him look so terribly  
charming. His inexplicably strong arms cage in Louis' waist as he turns onto his back, taking his mate with  
him. "I don't suppose mated couples everywhere are any different, my lover. Each one of them loves their  
mate."

A pair of bubblegum cherry lips seek out the skin of Harry's throat to nibble on. "That is a valid point."  
His Dominus hums in agreement and starts to absentmindedly knead the tender flesh of Louis' inner thigh. "I-"  
"Hush." Louis covers Harry's mouth with his hand whilst pushing himself up off his Alpha mate's chest.  
He listens to the silent cabin for a heartbeat before the muffled cries reach his ears and his maternal instincts  
flare. Harry doesn't release him until he's earned a kiss from the lovely boy, then pinching his pert bottom  
before watching him rush out of the bedroom. His admiring and lustful gaze follows Louis' nearly bare form all  
the way out the door.

Louis finds their pup squirming restlessly in his crib, fussing with the sleeves of his onesie and sniffling. "Hey  
there, my little lion."

Aryan settles into his mother's chest when Louis hoists him up into the air, silencing his complaints with an  
affectionate kiss. The pup is cradled against Louis' shoulder where his curled fists rest against familiar bare  
skin, whimpering because of the rubs to his twitching foot.  
"Did you have a bad dream?" Louis enquires after realising that Aryan isn't hungry. He sighs. "Just like your  
father."

* * * * *

Louis is at the stove trying to whip up something wholesome for dinner with the meat Harry gifted him today.  
He remembers his Dominus begging to take Aryan out for a hunt and Louis actually rolling his eyes. His pup  
would not be allowed in that awful wilderness.

Aryan now was with Harry in front of the fireplace, gurgling nonsense to his father and confidante. Harry in  
return whispered little sweet nothings that Louis didn't pick up, only giggled to himself whenever Harry got  
spit on his cheek. He chopped some peppers and carrots for their supper of chicken stir fry, tummy rumbling  
after so many weeks of merely snacks.

As the meal was left to sizzle, Louis wiped his hands on a cloth and got Harry's favourite tea out from the  
highest shelf. He felt around for a bit, due to his vertical height disadvantage, and pulled the glass jar down.  
Water boiled and he stirred the stir fry while listening to his Alpha mate feign defeat by their pup.   
Everything stopped when there was a knock on the door.

Harry stood from the floor and carried Aryan across their living space to Louis. After ensuring the little one  
was secured between Louis' protective arms, he spoke.

"Go upstairs." He says softly, kissing Aryan's tuft of dark hair and Louis' lips once.  
"Who is it?" Louis' palm cups the back of Aryan's head to keep it safe.  
The Dominus shakes his head, snapping his attention toward the door when it is knocked again. "I can't pick  
up a scent. Go upstairs."

He waited at the base of the steps for Louis to get inside their bedroom and lock the door before going to  
answer their guest. There's a shirt over the back of the couch that he pulls over his head - Aryan preferred  
bare skin contact and neither parent denied him that.

The door opens when Harry twists the handle and he's left standing as a barrier between his home and this  
intruder. Although, the Dominus that is allowing him to take control over his pack can hardly be considered an  
intruder.

"Stark Dominus." He greets the older authority respectfully and steps back to allow him through.  
A presently ageing man of fifty plus years, the Stark Dominus was still as fit as a young Alpha. He was dressed  
formally with a coat over his suit and regarded Harry's home in admiration. Once a Dominus became leader of  
their own pack, their bloodline came before their status and had to be addressed as such. Joseph Stark was  
one such man.

"Your home is impressive." The Stark Dominus complimented. "I have been hearing words from my men and  
decided to prove them wrong once and for all."

Harry offered up a polite smile and leaned back against one sofa, successfully hiding Aryan's favourite plush  
toy. "What have they been saying?"

"Nothing you need to be worried about." Joseph replied, creases forming on his brow when he picks up a  
delightfully subtle scent. "Do I smell a pup?"

"Yes." Harry can hardly contain his grin. He is very proud of his cherub baby and wanted to show him off. "My  
mate is upstairs with him."

"Him?" Joseph is pleasantly surprised by this. "A male heir so early is rare and needs to be appreciated more  
often."

Harry picks up Aryan's purple plush toy and toys with it fondly. "A daughter should bring just as much pride to  
a Dominus."

"I agree." Joseph nodded mindlessly as his deepset eyes flickered to every thing that's part of their chaotic  
home. "May I meet your mate and heir?"

As any new father would be, Harry became apprehensive. It showed evidently in his frown. "Okay."  
Harry left the Stark Dominus to his own devices downstairs while venturing up the steps to Louis. His mate's  
scent was thicker, more tantalising on Harry's tongue, the closer he got to the master bedroom. He let the  
door creak open when he pushed it and found Louis standing by the window with Aryan. 

"I have someone I'd like you to meet." Harry smiled encouragingly, taking his mate's hand.

* * * * *

The Stark Dominus all but fell in love with Aryan's presence after twenty minutes with the pup. He respected  
Louis' decision not to let him carry their baby just yet, as he was still a stranger to the boy. Aryan liked him  
just as fast and often found himself reaching for the golden lion pin attached to the Stark Dominus' lapel.  
"Let me ask you then, Louis." They were seated at the decently sized kitchen island, Aryan in a bundle of his  
own blankets to keep the cold out. "Do you think Harry will be a good leader?"

Louis met his eye and went back to guarding his pup from any rash movements. "I believe he'll be as good a  
leader as he is a father."

Harry's been busy at the stove to finish the food after Joseph was invited to stay for dinner and insisted Louis  
be his company for the evening.

Joseph nodded and caught Aryan watching the glimmer reflect off his pin. Simply, the Stark Dominus  
unhooked it before attempting to hand it over.

"Oh no." Louis took both Aryan's chubby fists and kept them from touching something prickly. "We don't give  
him anything sharp."

With a reassuring smile, the Stark Dominus kept Louis' worry at bay. He took the pin back and broke off the  
needle so that only the lion pendant remained, not even the hingle for the pin or clip.  
"This should be safer." Joseph puts the pendant in Aryan's fist and smiles at how enthralled the infant becomes  
with it. "It's the symbol of my family. A golden lion."

Louis can't get the pendant out of his baby's possession without upsetting him. "Are you sure you want to give  
him that?"

"Of course." Joseph clears his throat and sheds his coat, waking up to drape it over the back of the couch. "He  
enjoys it far more than I do."

Harry comes to join them with three plates of food balanced on his arms. He sets one down in front of each  
occupant at the table before seating himself. Aryan wiggles in his nest on the table and Harry picks him up  
with all the covers taken with, holding his pup against his chest with one arm.

"Dominus, I must commend you." Joseph says without picking up his fork. "You are one of the finest men and  
Dominus' I have ever met."

"Thank you, Stark-"

"No, no. You call me Joseph or risk insulting me." He picks up his fork at last and is humble enough to eat  
without reservation.

"Thank you, Dominus." Harry has the grace and respect to appear modest, disregarding his food in favour of  
paying attention to Aryan. 

"I understand that you have a brother as well." Joseph moves on from their topic speedily.  
Harry goes stiff with tension. "Yes."

The Stark Dominus notices Harry's change in appearance, a restrained curled fist against Aryan's back but not  
the hand that's squeezing Louis' knee. "Is he going to be a threat to your claim as Dominus of a pack?"  
"Possibly." Harry answers truthfully with resentment in his tone of voice. "He will be lit with envy if I attain a  
position higher than his."

Joseph falls silent like everyone else at the table except for innocent Aryan who is forming spit bubbles with  
his pink pouty lips. He watches them dribble onto his father's skin and finds it almost as fascinating as the  
glistening pendant in his hand.

"He'll just have to deal with it, I suppose." Joseph continues eating, uninhibited or concerned for this being  
another's home. "You'll have a pack to protect you then, Dominus."

Harry's eyes grow a little wide at being addressed as Dominus by an Alpha with higher ranking. Louis stifles  
his amusement and makes a mental note to tease Harry for his flabberghasted state later.  
"I uh- I don't want your pack to fight my personal battle." Harry quickly recovers.

"No good leader does that, you're right." Joseph wipes his mouth with a napkin and stands, along with Harry.  
"They're your pack now, Harry. You are welcome in our pack house as soon as you're ready to move there."  
Harry is tremendously thrilled and walks with Aryan to the door, chatting to Joseph while Aryan's garbled  
sounds provide background noise. The Stark Dominus bids all three of his hosts adieu before chuckling at  
Aryan's squeezed fist flailing his pendent around.

"This is yours now, little one." He tells the distracted baby. "Let it be what makes you a strong, loyal Dominus."

* * * * *

"Harry." Louis poked his Alpha mate's bare pectoral once, twice. He leans in close to the sleeping Dominus and  
hisses. "Harry."

Without his eyes opening or lips moving more than a slight parting to breathe, there's no answer. Harry's arms  
get a little tighter around Louis' hips while his mate is trying to remain upright, his dozing pup in his arms. He  
puts that soft, chubby weight on Harry's chest instead so the Alpha awakens.

"What-" Harry lowers his volume as soon as he takes in Aryan sleeping on his chest, bare down to just his  
napkin. "Haud mirum, what's wrong?"

Electric blue eyes blinked impassively down at him. "What Joseph said is bothering me."

Harry sighs before covering a yawn and tugging Louis' wrist. "Come lay by me."

Louis relents easily by slotting himself into Harry's side and resting his head on the Dominus' shoulder. This  
way, he could watch Aryan sleep and drool on Harry's chest. "Do you think he's going to be a Dominus?"   
"Of course." Harry curls his arm protectively around Louis. "He is a healthy specimen of a young Dominus."  
"But-" Louis chews his lip. "-he's my baby."

"Yes." Harry kisses Louis' forehead firmly. "He is our son and he is only two weeks old, haud mirum. Especially  
now since I've been allowed to train as pack leader. You'll never have to see him leave us."

Louis tilts his head back a bit and connects his lips with Harry's. He whispers his words against the Dominus'  
mouth. "Promise you won't let anything tear our family apart."

"I swear by all the stars in the sky and the blood in my veins."

* * * * *

Moving into the Stark Dominus' pack house started the next day. Joseph sent three brutish Dominus' to help  
with the physical storage but they were instructed to not set foot in Harry's home. That's where Louis and  
Aryan were, and Joseph had a soft spot for that baby.

Louis packed boxes in the bedroom while Harry dealt with the kitchen and attic. Their furniture and larger  
belongings would stay exactly this way, and they've promised each other that they will visit this home every  
week. Aryan lay on his parents' bed, rolling around with his toys and gurgling happily to himself.

By nightfall, all their necessities were carted to the Stark Dominus' home and they were eating their last meal  
here in front of the fire. Louis made roast lamb and sat on Harry's lap - as is tradition - while they ate. Aryan  
had been fed, burped and the pup was fighting sleep until Louis nuzzled his tummy and kissed his nose, then  
the youngest fell fast asleep.

"This one time at school-" Louis tells Harry after their plates were abandoned on the sofa and his Dominus  
chose to shamelessly grope his bottom. "-I got food poisoning from candy floss."

"My poor haud mirum." Harry pulled Louis in under his chin. "How did that happen?"

"School family day or something, I can't exactly recall." Louis confesses, bubbly and amused. "My teacher was  
so upset with me because our production was the next day."

"You were in plays?"

"Aha." Louis beamed proudly and turned to watch Aryan's little chest rise before falling. "Nobody outside  
school faculty and students were allowed to attend."

"I can understand the reason behind that." Harry was secretly glad that nobody estranged was allowed to  
witness his mate glow on stage.

"Of course you can." Louis jabbed Harry's chest accusingly. "You're a Dominus."

"That is correct. I suppose I have to share a story with you." Harry raised his eyebrow and Louis laughed, all  
softened by the humour in his eyes and crinkles at the corners. "Well, I have one about my earliest hunt."  
Louis sipped from his tall glass of water and settled back into Harry's embrace. "Tell me." 

Harry licks his lips and thinks back to the awful time. "I thought I had killed a stag and dragged it all the way  
home before the damned thing woke up and ran off."

The laughter he heard from Louis was characteristically musical and unrestricted. His sweet mate giggled  
uncontrollably at Harry's heinous retelling before apologising with a kiss. "How did you not know the animal  
was still alive?"

"I thought I broke its neck but...-" Harry shrugged a little with a nervous glint in his eye.

Louis cooes at his Dominus' awkward nature. "You still sound pretty angry about it."

"Why wouldn't I be, haud mirum?" Harry cups Louis' posterior where it's so available to his hands, squeezing  
firmly. "It's one of the nights I regret most."

This puzzled Louis. "Why? It was only your first hunt, my love."

"I became.....angry for the first time." Harry's eyes pinned Louis' and the trepidation coupled with remorse all  
brewed in dark green. "I let that get to me and I allowed myself to be controlled by violence instead of vice  
versa."

"Oh Harry." Louis reached up and framed Harry's face in both his delicate hands. He thinks about how he's  
never once seen Harry get angry. "It's okay."

Harry kissed the inside of Louis' palm and moved to both his wrists. That was the night he lost his leg because  
he chose to pick a fight with a wolf much older than he. His stupidest decision marred his body and hindered  
his actions.

"When I got my prosthetic, I thought I'd lost my Dominus status." Harry whispered nervously. "When I found  
out I hadn't, I felt like I had to prepare for a life alone. No submissive wants to mate with a broken Alpha."  
"Oye." Louis managed to smile without his breath catching. "You better not be insulting the mother of your  
heir."

"Never." Harry drew in a long breath and winked. "In fact, I was considering a request to get another pup from  
you."

Louis grumbles and hides his blushing face in Harry's neck. "You make it sound so mechanical."  
Harry's chuckle is audible and charming, his dimples making an appearance. "My apologies, haud mirum."  
"Perhaps-" Louis rested his forehead against Harry's, chewing on his cherry lip and looking squarely into  
Harry's deep gaze. "-we can try."

He need not recover for more than a few weeks, as their biology has been altered through the generations.  
Harry found solace in the fact that he could be intimate with his mate at this time, the night before they leave  
their own home.

They made love through the night to the early hours of the morning, recounting every event they've  
experienced together. The night they met replayed in their heads while Harry held Louis on his lap, or their  
mating. It was a festival of senses and touches, all building up to one climax before crashing over the edge.   
Louis insisted afterwards, while they were exhausted, that they change the sheets and allow Aryan to sleep  
with them. Harry was the one to do it and when they curled up in bed around their beautiful baby boy, he  
made sure to hold the infant's hand. Louis slept whilst lying on Harry's chest, only because that's where he was  
carved from when the stars wrote their story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of Dominus


End file.
